Post #4276991
2026-07-30 12:55 UTC
The goal of surveillance pricing is to shift all the "consumer surplus" (the difference between the highest price you're willing to pay and the price you actually pay) to companies. It's a form of cod-Marxism where you are gouged according to your ability (to pay) and charged according to the desperation of your need:
https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor
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Replies (1)
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@pluralistic@mamot.fr 2026-07-30 12:56
The problems of surveillance pricing are well documented. Under Biden, the FTC did a landmark study on the practice, developing a rich record that documents the role surveillance pricing plays in the affordability crisis: https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/24/gouging-the-all-seeing-eye/#i-spy Companies are already using this technology to rip you off, and they're *slavering* for the chance to do more of it. Instacart was recently caught marking up some shoppers' items by as much as a *third*: https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/11/nothing-personal/#instacartography 10/