'Who needs a surveillance agency when you can just commandeer private enterprise?'

You're exactly right. And the GE scenario holds credence - in similar fashion, Amazon reminds me much of what Sears used to be, the one-stop shop for American families.

I too am hopeful there will be more disruption by smaller organizations, but as you state we live in the age of mergers and acquisitions. Always boiling down to money.

This platform, Steemit is a great working prototype, and gives me hope about future decentralization. Away from conglomerates and the archaic banking institutions.