As I started read I was thinking of Rene Girard, and then you mentioned him. This is a fascinating subject. Have you read Michael Malice's book? When I did I was struck by the "out there" stuff of North Korea but when I started thinking more about it I could see more parallels with the US and propaganda we are taught in government schools. I'd never thought about the parallels with freemium models of big tech though. Great insight. Thank you.