Technofeudalism
Ioannis Georgiou “Yanis” Varoufakis (; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. Since 2018, he has been Secretary-General of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), a left-wing pan-European political party he co-founded in 2016. Previously, he was a member of Syriza and was Greece’s Minister of Finance between January and July 2015, negotiating on behalf of the Greek government during the 2009–2018 Greek government-debt crisis.
Varoufakis was first elected as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament with Syriza, representing the Athens B constituency from January to September 2015. He was appointed Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras two days after the election, serving in this role between January and July 2015. Varoufakis then represented Thessaloniki A from July 2019 to May 2023 as a MeRA25 Member of Parliament.
Technofeudalism is a socio-economic concept suggesting a shift from capitalism to a system where tech giants act as digital lords, controlling platforms and data rather than competing in free markets. Users are akin to modern-day “digital serfs” or peasants, who provide data and attention in exchange for access to these platforms. This system is characterized by the extraction of “cloud rent,” a form of user-generated data that fuels machine-learning models, and a concentration of power in the hands of a few tech companies, potentially undermining democratic principles.
Key characteristics of Technofeudalism
- Digital Lords: Large tech corporations (e.g., Amazon, Google, Meta) act as owners of digital platforms and infrastructure, controlling the “cloud” and digital markets.
- Digital Serfs: Individuals and businesses become reliant on these platforms for access, acting as “serfs” who provide their data and attention in exchange for services.
- Data as New Land: User data, collected through every click and interaction, is the new resource, similar to land in a feudal system, fueling powerful algorithms without direct compensation to users.
- Cloud Rent: Platforms extract “cloud rent” from users and businesses by taking a significant percentage of transaction prices and harvesting user data.
- Erosion of Market Competition: The platforms lack decentralization, with algorithms controlling what users see, leading to a lack of genuine competition and a shift from a profit-driven economy to a rent-driven one.
- Manufactured Preferences: Machine networks on these platforms, rather than pure individual choice, increasingly shape user preferences and desires.
Why it’s different from capitalism
Profit vs. Rent: In capitalism, the driving force is profit, generated by organizing labor and selling commodities. In technofeudalism, the primary driver is “rent” extracted from the digital platforms and data, bypassing market competition.
Power and Control: Unlike capitalism’s ideal of free markets, technofeudalism concentrates power in the hands of a few, transnational tech entities that are difficult to check or regulate by states