Techno-feudalism and the Rise of Cloud Capital

The podcast episode delves into the concept of techno-feudalism, which describes the dominance of big online players like Amazon, Google, and Facebook, who extract wealth from users and have become the new ruling class. The transformation from feudalism to capitalism involved a shift from rent accumulation to profit through the ownership of machinery, factories, and networks. However, with cloud capital, a new form of capital has emerged, characterized by algorithms that modify behavior and extract rent. The ownership and control over this mutant capital by a few individuals gives them immense power to manipulate desires, bypass markets, and accumulate wealth. The enclosures of the internet commons and the money printing by central banks since the 2008 financial crisis have accelerated the rise of cloud capital. While this techno-feudal model seems unsustainable, it can persist for an extended period, causing societal and environmental damage. However, governments and communities can take steps to address the power imbalances by implementing taxes on the revenues of online players, demanding the deposit of shares into public trust funds, and pushing for cooperative models that democratize the ownership and control of capital.