The government tends to have a monopoly on violence, which is quite the difference. A faceless corporation will have a harder time fining you, garnishing your wages, charging you with criminal acts. (For now at least...)
Conversely, the US government in particular will have a harder time with bans (first amendment), shadow bans (sixth amendment), hiding details about their recommendation algorithms (FOIA). The "checks and balances" part is important.
>The government tends to have a monopoly on violence
They don't literally, as can be seen by that guy who got roughed up by the Pinkertons for the horror of accidentally being sent a Magic card he shouldn't have been.
Nobody went to jail for that. So corporations have at least as much power over your life as the government, and you don't get to vote out corporations.
Tell me, how do I "choose a different company" with, for example, Experian, who keeps losing my private info, refuses to assign me a valid credit score despite having a robust financial history, and can legally ruin my life?
> They don't literally, as can be seen by that guy who got roughed up by the Pinkertons for the horror of accidentally being sent a Magic card he shouldn't have been.
Source for that?
I found [1] which sounds like intimidation; maybe a case for assault depending on how they "frightened his wife" but nothing about potentiall battery, which "roughed up" would seem to imply. The Pinkertons do enough shady stuff that there's not a need to exaggerate what they do.
