Technofeudalism
When Tech Giants Become Feudal Lords
Is capitalism truly dead, replaced by a new digital feudal age?
This provocative question has been making the rounds in tech and economic circles. A prominent economist argues that capitalism has been replaced by something even worse, a techno-feudal order in which powerful tech platforms function like medieval fiefdoms.
In this new order, Big Tech companies are the lords, and the rest of us – founders, creators, and users – risk becoming digital serfs serving at their pleasure.
The idea sounds extreme, but look closer: from app stores to social media, the signs of techno-feudalism are everywhere.
What is this exactly?
Techno-feudalism sounds like a sci-fi term, but it’s an uncannily accurate metaphor for today’s tech landscape. In medieval feudalism, power was concentrated in land-owning lords; today, platforms own the digital land—the app stores, social feeds, search indexes, and cloud infrastructures that everyone else depends on.
Yanis Varoufakis argues capitalism is mutating into techno-feudalism, dominated by a small elite of tech oligarchs.
Platforms like Amazon or Facebook aren’t just market participants; they’re the market makers who tilt the playing field at will.
Control over digital property is key here.
Your social media followers, app users, or cloud data might feel like yours, but they’re tenants on someone else’s estate. One tweak of Facebook’s algorithm can slash a media startup’s traffic overnight. A policy change in Apple’s App Store can bankrupt a small developer.
The right of exit—the ability to leave one platform without losing everything—barely exists in these walled gardens.
This is one of the reason why I don’t use Facebook anymore (it’s really redundant platform, trust me)
Platforms often follow a grim playbook dubbed “enshittification| by writer Cory Doctorow:
They’re good to users.
They abuse users to favor business customers.
They abuse business customers to reclaim value for themselves.
Sound familiar?
The more digital lords tighten control, the more value flows upward—until users flee, and the cycle repeats.
Meet Digital Landlords
Let’s put faces (or logos) to these digital landlords.
A handful of giants own critical digital infrastructure and operate like landlords charging rent or tolls:
Apple: The 30% App Store tax. (Epic Games’ rebellion led to Fortnite’s eviction.)
Google: Controls ~90% of global search, favoring its services, compelling businesses to buy ads or vanish from page one. (I hope AI search will change that)
Amazon: Competes directly with marketplace sellers, using their data to launch private-label products.
Meta (Facebook/Instagram): Organic reach plummeted; now, it’s pay-to-play to reach audiences you built.
X (Twitter): Abruptly killed third-party API access, demonstrating platform volatility.
Founders entering these domains must respect, understand, and cautiously navigate the digital landlords’ power.
Serfs of the Digital Age
If tech moguls are the new lords, where does that leave the rest of us? Unfortunately, many of us are sliding into the role of digital serfs. Every time you post on social media, you are effectively laboring on someone else’s property. To use Varoufakis’s vivid analogy, every tweet is like toiling on Elon Musk’s estate for free—your unpaid labor adds value to his platform.
The content creators on YouTube, the influencers on Instagram, the gig workers on Uber and DoorDash—all rely on platforms that can change rules on a whim. Ownership in this landscape is an illusion for the little guy: you might build a following or create a product, but a platform’s algorithm or policy tweak can wipe out your reach or revenue overnight. In medieval times, a serf’s livelihood was at the mercy of the lord; today, a seller’s or creator’s livelihood is at the mercy of a tech platform.
We tolerate this because these platforms provide convenience and global reach—but that convenience can come at the cost of our autonomy.
Navigating this feudal landscape is now essential. Savvy entrepreneurs thrive by:
Diversifying Channels: Never rely solely on one platform.
Owning Audience Data: Prioritize direct relationships (email, newsletters, SMS, communities).
Bending Algorithms (Ethically): Master and leverage algorithms for visibility.
Finding Loopholes: Creatively minimize platform taxes (e.g., web signups bypassing app store fees).
Leveraging Landlords Strategically: Align goals to platforms’ incentives, gaining promotion rather than suppression.
In “Replacing Goverments” I explore a future where traditional state power gives way to corporate dominance. I notes that today’s most successful companies (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, etc.) are worth more than many national economies.
One in every four people on the planet uses an Apple device
Innovation on Rented Land
Founders and entrepreneurs find themselves in a tricky position.
On one hand, building on top of big platforms offers instant infrastructure and access to users. On the other hand, it’s like building a castle on rented land.
Your app might depend on Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store policies.
Your e-commerce startup might rely on Amazon’s marketplace or AWS cloud servers.
This dependency can feel safe today, but it can turn on a dime. A sudden fee increase, a new guideline, or a policy change by the platform can disrupt your entire business model.
Founders in the tech-feudal era must carefully balance leveraging the lords’ resources with avoiding total dependence.
Is techno-feudalism inevitable? No empire lasts forever. Opportunities abound to disrupt or reinvent the feudal model:
Decentralized & Open Tech: Protocols like ActivityPub and Bluesky’s AT Protocol empower interoperability and user control.
New Rails: Open-source AI models reduce dependency on centralized gatekeepers.
Regulatory Changes: Antitrust laws like the EU’s DMA could force openness, benefiting startups.
Innovative Rebels: Shopify and WordPress successfully built ecosystems outside Big Tech, empowering users and businesses.
Today’s lords have weaknesses—slow innovation, regulatory backlash, and user dissatisfaction. Founders exploiting these can carve out new, freer digital spaces.
A New Hope or a Deeper Vassalage?
Is techno-feudalism here to stay, or is it a transitional phase before something better (or worse)? History teaches us that no regime is permanent.
Medieval feudalism eventually gave way to the renaissance of free commerce and capitalism. In the same vein, the current dominance of tech lords could be disrupted by new paradigms: perhaps decentralized technologies (Web3, blockchain), cooperative platforms, or stringent regulations might check the power of today’s feudal giants. Already, regulators have started antitrust actions against companies like Apple and Google, hinting that governments are waking up to the tyranny of platform power.
Meanwhile, innovators are exploring open-source and decentralized alternatives.
It’s too early to tell if these efforts will meaningfully dent the power of Big Tech, but they offer a glimpse of possible futures where users and creators have more agency.
For founders, this is a call to be forward-thinking: the next big opportunity might lie in enabling users to break free or gain a better bargain from the current fiefdoms.
Post Credit Scene
Books and Interviews:
Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis – a deep dive into techno-feudal dynamics.
The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow – examining the enshittification phenomenon.
Interview with Tim Wu on antitrust and the future of digital competition (The Verge).
Funny and Relevant TV Shows and Films:
Silicon Valley (HBO) – humorously captures the absurdities of big tech culture.
Severance (Apple TV) – a chilling satire about corporate control and identity.
The Studio (Apple TV) – follows a legacy Hollywood movie studio striving to survive in a world where it is increasingly difficult for art and business to live together.
Upload (Amazon Prime) – a satirical take on digital feudalism and ownership.
These resources offer both serious and entertaining insights into our digital reality—whether you’re strategizing your escape from feudal overlords or simply looking for a laugh amidst the chaos.
Thanks for reading.
Vlad