This is very true. However, I wonder if we as engineers and the like can provide a better TLDR ratings guide for marketplaces. Kinda like https://tosdr.org/ or a BBB that works... Then we as engineers refuse to build apps for marketplaces below some kind of score.

Or does it even matter if the Apple App store is the only marketplace of its kind?

If people are making money on a platform, people will develop for it regardless of these issues. Unfortunate reality.

Democracy only works in a growing economy.

Why is this a meme? Is there any evidence that this is true?

Self reply- it appears that Sam Altman made this assertion in a recent New Yorker article as well as a blog post. I think the observation of low growth is good, but the assertion that democracy does t work without a economic growth is less persuasive. All forms of progress need not be measured by GDP. In fact, many issues indicative of social progress have difficult to measure economic impact or even potentially negative economic impact with good social benefits.

On a related note, as a small startup I am looking for some TOS generator that I - the single developer - could also understand and that will be clear and fair to my users. Any advice?

Iubenda,https://www.iubenda.com/en, has worked well for us.

Excellent question. I know of no answer, but maybe part of the issue of terrible TOS's is lack of resources to write good ones?

On the contrary, that's exactly the environment I'd want to do biz in. Some kind of pro-small biz small claims legislation.

An environment where anyone you provide services to can take you to court because they don't find your explanation "reasonable"?

Any sufficiently dominant monopoly is indistinguishable from a government.

So, choose your poison. We can govern them, or they can govern us.

Well, even in US there are antitrust laws, right?

How could that be worse than doing business in an environment of dominant platforms that will arbitrarily shut you down whenever the business they lose to a false positive (i.e. none, because the business just moves to the next guy) is cheaper than the investigation that would avoid the false positive?