Google is a warlord among bandits with some interests that overlap ours.

There is an alignment of interests between the population and the warlord that does not exist between the population and the bandits: it is in the interest of the warlord to restrain his takings and so ensure that his victims have a motive to be productive. The warlord also has a motive to clamp down on crime (other than his own), and to provide public goods that benefit those he taxes. Olson describes this as a "second invisible hand", by which autocrats are guided "to use their power, at least to some degree, in accord with the social interest." In a similar way, in a neighbourhood under the control of organized crime there will be no robberies, only a protection racket.

In many ways the Internet is, of course, [such] a place

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Google is a warlord of the Internet, surrounded by bandits. It provides public goods because its revenue (advertisements) depends on a safe and yet wide-open Internet... let's not kid ourselves that Google is anything other than an organization with some interests that overlap ours.

Rather remarkable how a corporate entity can serve the people and itself at once in such a profound and industry-shaping manner.

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