We are complicit in our employer’s deeds

We technologists like to pretend we're powerful, that we could bring these giant megacorps to their knees because those fancy suits need us, right?

No. They need an engineer, not any one specific engineer. Companies like Amazon reject many candidates that could probably do the job they applied for, but were rejected because they can afford to be picky. If anything changes at Amazon it not be because of the loss of that guy's engineering skills.

What would actually make the world a better place is if we recognized that we're really just well paid technicians, and that the true power in society is held by a relatively small number of people who hold a massive amount of capital. We need to give up the fantasy that we can change things with individual action, and start looking towards collective, society-level solutions to the problems today.

When you help a dubious firm progress, you further that dubious behaviour.

Techies, and everyone else, included.

Edit, re the enlightening discussion below:

You are complicit in your employer’s behaviour, more-so if you are reasonably able to find another job, but decide against it.

That's really not a useful distinction though.

If you drive or ride in any sort of vehicle that uses gasoline, then you're helping big oil get away with the deepwater horizon oil spill. ... Or even if you purchase any good or service that was transported by a vehicle that uses gasoline.

By using gas you're normalizing a system that accepts oil extraction as necessary which furthers the dubious behavior of the people responsible for deepwater.

Also by not using gas or any good or service that uses gas then you're making yourself look crazy which also furthers the dubious behaviors of big oil.

So now that everyone is evil; it really doesn't matter if anyone is evil. Might as well catch fish and drown them with oil by hand. Either way dubious behavior is furthered, so why not.

You're going to need a lot more nuance and practicality to make a meaningful statement in this realm.

It’s not binary. There are degrees.

Filling your car with petrol and choosing to stay with a dubious firm are at opposite ends.

The difference, to me, is your ability to avoid the complicity.

It’s hard, for most, not to drive in their petrol-based car.

But for many techies, it’s not hard to choose a different tech firm.