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It's a safe bet that if an everyday member of the public enters into any sort of contract with a company, especially a major corporation, that contract is going to state that in entering into said contract, the average citizen agrees that they give up a number of their legal rights, while the corporation obtains or retains a number of legal rights, sometimes even in the case of gross negligence or sometimes even deliberate wrongdoing on the part of said corporation. These agreements are so plainly lopsided that corporations rarely, if ever, allow themselves to get the short end of the stick when dealing with other corporate entities, and we as the public question the judgment of people who enter into such agreements with other private citizens. So, why do we enter into contracts with companies and corporations that contain clauses that would clearly screw us over if they ever went into effect?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not an idiot, so I understand a number of the reasons that people would give for allowing themselves to be bent over a barrel this way. I'm asking more from a chicken-and-egg standpoint. What started this trend, and allowed it to gain so much momentum that it now seems unstoppable? And what would it take to reverse it?