They are the kings of design and UX. It disturbs me that their culture is this totalitarian and dysfunctional, but it doesn't surprise me in the least.
His post explains it. To have good design/UX (in his opinion), you need to exercise a lot of control over your product- totalitarian control, even. Apple is great at design- therefore, the company culture to maintain that control is also totalitarian.
They are the kings of design and UX. It disturbs me that their culture is this totalitarian and dysfunctional, but it doesn't surprise me in the least.