Welcome to the Age of Technofeudalism

Analysis of Yanis Varoufakis’ book “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism?” (2023)

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Technofeudalism refers to the growing concentration of power in the hands of a few tech giants, resembling the hierarchical structures of medieval feudal systems.

This analysis examines how wealth is generated by platforms and algorithms through rent extracted from users’ data, and the need for new terminology to accurately reflect today’s economic reality. It also covers Varoufakis’ views on escaping technofeudalism, his political engagement, and the global implications of this shift, as well as objections to his perspective.

Varoufakis emphasizes that he is not predicting what will happen, but rather pointing out what has already happened — we just didn’t pay attention. He claims that capitalism is over and has evolved into something much worse — Technofeudalism, as he calls it.

Profit and markets have been evicted from the epicenter of our economic and social system and replaced with digital trading platforms, which look like markets but are not. Profit has been replaced with its feudal predecessor — rent. He calls it cloud rent.

Real power today no longer resides with the owners of traditional capital — such as machinery, buildings, or…