> It's not normal for corporations to dwarf most of the nations in the UN in terms of GDP.
It has been, actually, normal for there to be corporations with revenue dwarfing the GDP of most nations on Earth (the UN is a recent distraction) for nearly as long as joint stock corporations have been a thing.
Largely because GDP isn't exactly equally distributed among countries; the median GDP of a country on Earth right now is only in the neighborhood of $15 billion, which is in the neighborhood of the GDP of a quite small city in the developed world.
> That's not a free market anymore
“Free market” is a non-existent abstract ideal, not a thing that actually exists or can exist.
It has been, actually, normal for there to be corporations with revenue dwarfing the GDP of most nations on Earth (the UN is a recent distraction) for nearly as long as joint stock corporations have been a thing.
Largely because GDP isn't exactly equally distributed among countries; the median GDP of a country on Earth right now is only in the neighborhood of $15 billion, which is in the neighborhood of the GDP of a quite small city in the developed world.
> That's not a free market anymore
“Free market” is a non-existent abstract ideal, not a thing that actually exists or can exist.