The Great Decay

In 2025, two of the most influential critics of technology power published landmark books on the same crisis. Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification describes how platforms deliberately degrade quality once users are locked in. Tim Wu’s The Age of Extraction analyzes how platforms have become history’s most effective instruments of wealth extraction. This article examines both frameworks—their diagnoses, convergences, divergences, predicted future trends, and actionable recommendations for policymakers, technologists, and communities.