Why should labor care about the quality of their work when management also does not because it's hard at the prospect of the largest displacement of labor in history?
Well I believe the thread you're commenting in has answered that question.
Programming is also the field where it's the easiest to strike out on your own. Seizing the means of production in programming amounts to grabbing a $200 laptop.
> Seizing the means of production in programming amounts to grabbing a $200 laptop
This might have been true in 20 years ago, but not anymore. Sure, you can produce an app with a $200 and your time (which, by the way, has opportunity costs, which are the main "means of production" in programming), but who is going to pay you for it? Now, you need marketing. For marketing, you need capital. Or more time, which means more opportunity cost.
Very simply put: because in neoliberal capitalism, the only goal of companies is to maximize profit in the short-term (because financing is driven by short time horizons). Crucially, companies don't need to internalize any external costs.
How is this the future of software engineering?