Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism
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- Create Date：2024-02-27 06:22:46
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Yanis Varoufakis
- ISBN：1685891241
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Geneva Valek
，
Has this guy never heard of other kinds of capital？ Someone get him some Bourdieu stat
Jenny Hu
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Fantastic， completely contemporary break down and illustration of modern capitalism and technofeudalism。 So much has changed since the 2008 crisis- war， a pandemic， tiktok！ Even if the proposals at the end aren’t it for you， the contextualization of current events to the larger financial system hopefully is。
Damo
，
I really enjoyed this。 If he's correct in his diagnosis （that post-2008， we all slid into a reimagined fiefdom based on cloud computing） then there's an existential threat to capitalism that no economic theorist could have seen coming。 Yanis doesn't set out any master plan for a coherent alternative structure， but that's fine。 I also enjoyed the personal take on this with a lot of the book having reference to personal notes to his late father。 I really enjoyed this。 If he's correct in his diagnosis （that post-2008， we all slid into a reimagined fiefdom based on cloud computing） then there's an existential threat to capitalism that no economic theorist could have seen coming。 Yanis doesn't set out any master plan for a coherent alternative structure， but that's fine。 I also enjoyed the personal take on this with a lot of the book having reference to personal notes to his late father。 。。。more
Jack
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I don’t like to give books a single star。 But this book deserves it。 I really felt like I was cornered at a party by a conspiracy theorist I couldn’t get away from。 There is no discussion of AI。 The book feels like reading something from another century。 It was out of date before it hit the shelves。 Also the book has an agenda and it is so full of bias that it is hard to sift nuggets of good information from all the bad （and not really worth it）。 This book is a rant。 Was hoping for something mor I don’t like to give books a single star。 But this book deserves it。 I really felt like I was cornered at a party by a conspiracy theorist I couldn’t get away from。 There is no discussion of AI。 The book feels like reading something from another century。 It was out of date before it hit the shelves。 Also the book has an agenda and it is so full of bias that it is hard to sift nuggets of good information from all the bad （and not really worth it）。 This book is a rant。 Was hoping for something more。 。。。more
Richard Atkins
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A giant amongst pygmies， as ever。
Tata
，
An excellent account of economic history from 2008 to now， and does a lot to explain the current degradation of digital infrastructure through shareholder intervention。
Matthew
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Good analysis and an interesting conceptualisation of unwitting reproduction by consumers as a new mode of production， and the argument about rent replacing profit is thought provoking as an addition to rentierism。 The conversation style continues to be a pleasant way of framing his work and the policy suggestions， whilst not radical， may be practical。
Devin Stevenson
，
I cannot speak highly enough to Yanis' works。 No one else alive has been so formative to my political and economic understanding。 Like me， Yanis comes from a socialist tradition but i think he's articulated a new lens that speaks to todays Unique terrain features。 Capitalism was a clear improvement from feudalism， as Marx himself described。 But many elements of modern capitalism existed within feudalism。 Just as vestiges of feudalism remained in the new capitalism。 To simplify a distinction， cap I cannot speak highly enough to Yanis' works。 No one else alive has been so formative to my political and economic understanding。 Like me， Yanis comes from a socialist tradition but i think he's articulated a new lens that speaks to todays Unique terrain features。 Capitalism was a clear improvement from feudalism， as Marx himself described。 But many elements of modern capitalism existed within feudalism。 Just as vestiges of feudalism remained in the new capitalism。 To simplify a distinction， capitalism is motivated by profit。 Feudalism is motivated by rents。Yanis describes how a shift occurred in 2008。 The crash was resolved by funneling the money printer to wall st。 Guaranteeing this flow of cash was the beginning of the end for profits' global primacy。 Not gone。 But the largest forces globally we're getting their income from rents。 Capitalists live insider their giant fiefs just like the merchants of old operated within the marketplace of someone elses fiefdom。 A major distinction of the new feudalism is that the fiefdoms are not límited to physical properties。 The largest fiefdoms are digital spaces。 Capitalists scrap for access to our digital profiles， our preferences， influence over our purchasing power and our minds， access to powerful algorithyms that constantly assess and shape US。 Thats bleak and dystopian enough， but an increasingly familiar framing for many。 Yes thats capitalist。However， the capitalists' access to these data storehouses and algorithyms is given to them by paying Rent to a cloud fief。 A King/Queen could evict these capitalist merchants at their whim。 This shifts the final "boss" fight of our。collective struggles。 The Big enemy in a capitalist system is the capitalist。 In a feudal system that BOSS above them is fief。 The Big three being Vanguard， Black Rock， and State St。 Giant firms that bought up pieces of everything。This is Bad news。 The socialist PlayBook under capitalism is build class consciousness and organize towards seizing the means of priduction。 Strikes and unions are bread and butter。 Effectiveness of socialist táctics。 Depends on the leverage of holding hostage the bottom line: profit。 These goals and tactics still matter and are essential but if profit is no longer the leverage point it was for global change， then our analysis must be amended urgently。 。。。more
Steve Brock
，
As Stevo’s Novel Ideas， I am a long-time book reviewer， member of the media， an Influencer， and a content provider。 I received this book as a review copy from either the author， the publisher or a publicist。 I have not been compensated for this recommendation。 I have selected it as Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 2/18， as it stands heads above other recently published books on this topic。 As Stevo’s Novel Ideas， I am a long-time book reviewer， member of the media， an Influencer， and a content provider。 I received this book as a review copy from either the author， the publisher or a publicist。 I have not been compensated for this recommendation。 I have selected it as Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 2/18， as it stands heads above other recently published books on this topic。 。。。more
Dominik Hudec
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So， not a study on raves in feudal times。 But very good at contextualizing recent economic developments。 Great insight into how post-2008 central bank policy and free flowing money for big tech increased rent’s structural importance。 The role of our behavioral data （cloud capital， he calls it） in this is quite intersting as well。 To me， dissolution of markets and algorithm’s grasp over our choices are perphaps not as dramatic as he puts it， but what do I know。 The title sounds evocative， so。。
Charles
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Capitalism is dead。 We are serfs。 Ugh！ It’s a plausible argument and it’s über-depressing。
David Gjorgoski
，
an easy read， maybe a bit TOO easy at times， I didn’t really feel like I learned a lot。 still， the economic and geopolitical knowledge of varoufakis is at full display here and sometimes I really appreciated the simplicity especially when delving into things concerning finance， debts， derivatives， stocks， etc。 which have always been pretty opaque for me at least。still， I ended up feeling a bit let down - decidedly NOT the revolutionary book it’s advertised as
H。C。 Harrington
，
Unveiling the Complexities of Technofeudalism"Technofeudalism" by Yanis Varoufakis delves deep into the intricate web of modern economic structures， offering a thought-provoking analysis that builds upon the author's previous work， "Talking to My Daughter about the Economy。" Drawing from a wealth of knowledge acquired through extensive engagement with Varoufakis' ideas in various online discussions， debates， and lectures， I approached this book with high expectations。Varoufakis does not disappoi Unveiling the Complexities of Technofeudalism"Technofeudalism" by Yanis Varoufakis delves deep into the intricate web of modern economic structures， offering a thought-provoking analysis that builds upon the author's previous work， "Talking to My Daughter about the Economy。" Drawing from a wealth of knowledge acquired through extensive engagement with Varoufakis' ideas in various online discussions， debates， and lectures， I approached this book with high expectations。Varoufakis does not disappoint。 Through a blend of rigorous research and accessible prose， he unpacks the concept of Technofeudalism， shedding light on the convergence of technological advancements and socio-economic power dynamics。 His exploration of how digital technologies have facilitated the rise of a new form of feudalism is both compelling and unsettling。One of the book's strengths lies in Varoufakis' ability to connect historical precedents with contemporary phenomena。 By tracing parallels between the feudal systems of the past and the digital monopolies of the present， he offers valuable insights into the mechanisms through which power is consolidated and perpetuated in our increasingly interconnected world。Furthermore， Varoufakis' critique of the prevailing economic orthodoxy is incisive and well-founded。 He exposes the flaws inherent in neoliberal ideology， highlighting its role in exacerbating inequalities and entrenching the dominance of tech giants and financial elites。 His call for a radical reimagining of our economic structures is both timely and urgent。That being said， "Technofeudalism" is not without its shortcomings。 At times， Varoufakis' arguments can be dense and complex， requiring careful attention from the reader to fully grasp their implications。 Additionally， while his proposals for reform are ambitious， they may seem idealistic to some， raising questions about their feasibility in the face of entrenched interests and power structures。Being a student of Marx and a supporter of Left movements like Ecosocialism， Varoufakis' ideas don't fall on deaf ears， and I imagine that reason makes it more engaging for me personally。 I was especially impressed by the footnotes， and various charts provided at the back， making it easier for readers to delve deeper into the topic or to wrap their head around the concepts of the work better。Overall， "Technofeudalism" is a formidable addition to the discourse on contemporary economics and technology。 It challenges readers to confront the uncomfortable realities of our digital age while offering a vision for a more equitable and just future。 Whether you're familiar with Varoufakis' work or encountering it for the first time， this book is sure to provoke deep reflection and stimulate meaningful conversations about the direction of our society。 。。。more
Filip Olšovský
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Thrilling， provocative and - once again - beautifully written。 This might be Varoufakis' best one yet。 Although lacking the name dropping and touch of high politica of Adults In the Room， it is even stronger in its eye-opening power。 Although being one of those who still consider Varofakis a communist and all communists evil （and don't see his Another Now as a viable alternative）， his analysis of our current system is just so spot on it is scary。 The fear about the future is even bigger now but Thrilling， provocative and - once again - beautifully written。 This might be Varoufakis' best one yet。 Although lacking the name dropping and touch of high politica of Adults In the Room， it is even stronger in its eye-opening power。 Although being one of those who still consider Varofakis a communist and all communists evil （and don't see his Another Now as a viable alternative）， his analysis of our current system is just so spot on it is scary。 The fear about the future is even bigger now but the brain says it has not felt this satisfied with a book for a long， long time。 。。。more
Marcelo Gonçalves
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Obrigatório para que se possa compreender situação política e econômica do ocidente nos tempos atuais
Emilio Garcia
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"The most irritating man in the room"， as Financial Times called him during the 2010 negotiations within the EU to bail Greece， has written an interesting book about our current digital society and economy。 The book is a recognition of the failure of the left-wing efforts to overcome capitalism and the success on this task of a more ruthless form of capitalism called technofeudalism。 For this purpose， he made a quite right description of the world we life in， and how digital technologies has ser "The most irritating man in the room"， as Financial Times called him during the 2010 negotiations within the EU to bail Greece， has written an interesting book about our current digital society and economy。 The book is a recognition of the failure of the left-wing efforts to overcome capitalism and the success on this task of a more ruthless form of capitalism called technofeudalism。 For this purpose， he made a quite right description of the world we life in， and how digital technologies has served to promote a new ruler class， cloudalists， that has convert citizens in cloud serfs and legacy capitalist class in cloud vassals。But although his diagnostic may be shared by many people， the search for a solution is perhaps quite naive。 Certainly， his proposals for democratising companies and money are challenging， and， if implemented， could be instruments to overcome technofeudalism， unfortunately， they are quite utopic。 The proposals are almost impossible to be implemented in an isolated manner in a country or economic area and it is out of the game to think that US or China， as the main beneficiaries of the system， would introduce them in their area。Nevertheless， this kind of books are far from futile。 Varoufakis and other economic theorist of the same flock， like Aaron Bastani or Shoanna Zuboff， make all of us to reflect about our system and how technology may serve to build up a very different society。 As the former Greek minister said， we are just at the beginning of a fight as unbalanced as the fight of the XIX century between workers and the first version of capitalism。 If things changed then， there´s no limit to achieve a different society。 。。。more
Phil Walker
，
I was way out of my depth with some of this but never considered stopping reading it altogether。 Maybe if I read more of a gentle introduction to these concepts and read this again it would make more sense
Colton
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It's a pretty great look at current economic problems。 For someone who is only knowledgeable of economics at an amateurish or intermediate level， having read some Marx， David Harvey， Thomas Piketty， etc， I can only speculate on its effectiveness。I think the book is well worth it as a way to provide language to some of the issues today。 Yanis Varoufakis takes as the conceit that he is writing to his late-father， unlike the previous book which was to his daughter， and so he has a little leeway in It's a pretty great look at current economic problems。 For someone who is only knowledgeable of economics at an amateurish or intermediate level， having read some Marx， David Harvey， Thomas Piketty， etc， I can only speculate on its effectiveness。I think the book is well worth it as a way to provide language to some of the issues today。 Yanis Varoufakis takes as the conceit that he is writing to his late-father， unlike the previous book which was to his daughter， and so he has a little leeway in the form to discuss the history of capitalism， particularly in the 20th century。I have little to no idea whether his actions would work， as they feel like they would entirely reconfigure the entirety of economic life。 For someone with a firm basis in historical materialism， I found this surprising， and far more paradigm-shifting than something simple like Thomas Piketty's "tax on wealth" recommendation。Surprisingly no mention of open-source software， which I feel could put a dent into some of these cloud capacities。I actually would have preferred a far larger book that was a little more detail-oriented， as I felt that several sweeping statements contain in them counterarguments from me。 These may not be true at all， but my feeling of them connote some finer detail ignored。 In that way， I greatly appreciated the lessons from Capital and Ideology as an educational text， and I could have benefited from more of that here。A necessary polemic， if a bit heavy-handed。 。。。more
Sad Sherp
，
Малко по-различен поглед върху настоящото господство на технологичните компании， които са феодали， защото основната им цел не е да правят печалба， а да прибират рента， което по термините на Варуфакис не се явява следващата революция в капитализма （технологичната） а е неговият край。 Естествено ние и вниманието ни и данните ни сме вече крепостните， но не подчинени на капитала， а на рентата， която Биг Тех събират。 Всичко разбира се с помощта на Уолстрийт，безплатните пари и изненада - борбата за ико Малко по-различен поглед върху настоящото господство на технологичните компании， които са феодали， защото основната им цел не е да правят печалба， а да прибират рента， което по термините на Варуфакис не се явява следващата революция в капитализма （технологичната） а е неговият край。 Естествено ние и вниманието ни и данните ни сме вече крепостните， но не подчинени на капитала， а на рентата， която Биг Тех събират。 Всичко разбира се с помощта на Уолстрийт，безплатните пари и изненада - борбата за икономическо и оттам за всяко друго превъзходство。 Книгата не е плоска и има интересни паралели， но пиетета към Маркс силно нагарча。 Така или иначе никой не е обещавал че ще е спрсавдливо и се учудвам в цялата плеяда от намесени и древни гърци， автора не е открил един， който да го е записал。Изобщо не е учудващо че ЕЦБ и представляващите немските и френските пенсионери скъсиха политическата кариера на автора и така е по-добре за всички。 Варуфакис е просто пънкар - предложенията， доколкото ги има са силно утопични。 Да се прочете。 。。。more
Nicola
，
VOTO: 3-PRO: lettura accessibile e scorrevole， prospettiva storica， un punto di vista interessanteCONTRO: troppe divagazioni， poco approfondito dal punto di vista economicoCome nei saggi precedenti， l'autore offre spunti e riflessioni originali ed interessanti sulle vicende e le trasformazioni che sta subendo l'economia， che di per sé giustificherebbero un voto più alto。 Purtroppo， come nell'opera precedente - Un altro presente - non mi sembra riuscito il tentativo di confezionare le sue tesi ec VOTO: 3-PRO: lettura accessibile e scorrevole， prospettiva storica， un punto di vista interessanteCONTRO: troppe divagazioni， poco approfondito dal punto di vista economicoCome nei saggi precedenti， l'autore offre spunti e riflessioni originali ed interessanti sulle vicende e le trasformazioni che sta subendo l'economia， che di per sé giustificherebbero un voto più alto。 Purtroppo， come nell'opera precedente - Un altro presente - non mi sembra riuscito il tentativo di confezionare le sue tesi economiche in forma di romanzo， immagino nell'encomiabile sforzo di raggiungere un pubblico il più vasto possibile。 Personalmente ho trovato questa scelta poco felice， risultando entrambe le opere piuttosto dispersive e faticando a cogliere il messaggio tra le divagazioni scientifiche。 In quest'ultima opera sostanzialmente la tesi centrale viene sviluppata negli ultimi due capitoli， il penultimo in particolare mentre i precedenti tentano di inquadrarla storicamente con un tocco personale。 Avrei di gran lunga preferito se l'autore avesse speso più pagine ad approfondire la sua tesi e discutere la sua visione alternativa， che riassume sostanzialmente quanto scritto nel saggio precedente。 。。。more
Simon Hart
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Leuk en provocatief geschreven。 Soms wat vergezochte claims over het grote geheel， met oplossing die er vooral uitspringen door de eenvoud。 Echter zijn eenvoudige oplossing altijd makkelijker te beargumenteren t。o。v。 een ingewikkeld geheel。 Al met al een leuke nieuwe lens om de wereld door te bekijken， zeker geen absolute waarheid
RF Francis
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Man with great insight and interesting ideas refuses to be hampered by kindergarten-level writing ability。
Stefanos
，
This should have been an opinion piece。 And it is not a good book I am afraid。I feel that the research work put into this book was next to zero。 I understand that it is supposed to be a letter， and a tribute， to the author's late father。 Yet it remains structured as a book and， as such， it reads like a series of unsubstantiated claims whose piling up creates a shaky representation of the recent past and current conditions。 The author's views， subjective as all， are presented as incontestable tru This should have been an opinion piece。 And it is not a good book I am afraid。I feel that the research work put into this book was next to zero。 I understand that it is supposed to be a letter， and a tribute， to the author's late father。 Yet it remains structured as a book and， as such， it reads like a series of unsubstantiated claims whose piling up creates a shaky representation of the recent past and current conditions。 The author's views， subjective as all， are presented as incontestable truths。 Sadly， the narrative of economic history is at least questionable， again presented as the absolute truth。 The author presents a one-sided overview of economic milestones past and present， seemingly in a vacuum that has no room to relate to the work of others， on whom this book builds （or ought to have built）。 Indeed， the discussion of the new era of digital capitalism， platform capitalism， or technofeudalism， as the author terms it， is vast and ongoing。 Very few， if any， ink in this book has been spilled to sketch that vivid area of scholarly debate。 Admittedly， Prof Varoufakis may as well be right， as he often is and always thinks he is。 However， as the Americans say， 'show your work'。 Intelligence should not substitute work， research， and argumentation。 The author promises to analyse technofeudalism but never does。 Instead， the array of hanging claims， unsubstantiated statements， and facts drawn from newspapers or from personal views becomes increasingly difficult to follow in the second half of the book， when too much has already been built on sand。I guess what bugs me the most are these two。 First， very few other people would have been able to publish a book without any research， but with just an exposition of thoughts in its stead。 Most others would have been rejected at desk review。 Second， Prof Varoufakis' intelligence may well supersede the sum of the cognitive abilities of all his readers - but he knows it and， I suspect， lets us know about it， and takes us for a ride in his book。 I read Technofeudalism after Naomi Klein's Doppelganger。 The contrast between this author and Dr Klein's cautious， reluctant， inquisitive， uncertain pace while steering amid vast scholarly work and copious research was overwhelming， and sadly condemning for Technofeudalism。 I whole-heartedly suggest reading any other of Prof Varoufakis' books， all of which continue to have substantial value。 I am happy to log this one as a one-off sidestep from good work。 。。。more
Jamrock
，
I seem to be reading a lot of yellow books recently。 Also， a classmate and I have both declared this our ‘top book of 2024’; a bold claim given we are not even at mid-January 😁
Wick Welker
，
We are in an unprecedented era of post-capitalism feudalismThis is a stunning economic and geopolitical narrative about the current world order。 It’s so convincing and well thought that I need to remind myself it is still a narrative and only a simulacrum of reality and not to get too carried away。 I’m going to outline what Vourfakis’ thesis is in this book and it takes a bit to build to what techno feudalism is。 Bear with and please read on because I think this is an extremely timely and import We are in an unprecedented era of post-capitalism feudalismThis is a stunning economic and geopolitical narrative about the current world order。 It’s so convincing and well thought that I need to remind myself it is still a narrative and only a simulacrum of reality and not to get too carried away。 I’m going to outline what Vourfakis’ thesis is in this book and it takes a bit to build to what techno feudalism is。 Bear with and please read on because I think this is an extremely timely and important book right now。 The main crux of this book is that the balance of power has tipped from profit makers controlling the world back to the rent-seekers which has fundamentally mutated （or destroyed？） capitalism。 Let’s get into it。 Let’s just start with the post-WWII economy。 America had all the gold from providing the resources for the war to Europe and had the upper hand in the postwar economy。 The Bretton Woods conference mapped out a global plan where the US would export their extremely dynamic and robust manufacturing products to Western Europe and Japan。 While the US maintained a huge surplus， they ensured that the dollar was used for all these global transactions with a guarantee of gold bullion convertibility。 But then… the US lost its surplus from massive military spending especially during its global fight against communism。 The author asserts that LBJ’s Great Society also lost the US surplus by bringing more goods into the country rather than exporting。 The great irony is that the US succeeded in doing something very similar to what the USSR was trying to do: asert global control with a centrally planned economy。 Yes。 The US in the Breton Woods era was very much a centrally planned economy with price controls and colluding with corporate oligarchs to keep Wall Street in check with capital controls。 Bretton Woods was a time of technocratic capitalism where profits were made from wage labor， advertisers became extremely good at crafting nostalgic products and selling the image of the middle class。 And then， the Nixon Shock。Here’s what happened: once the US started to deficit spend they couldn’t keep going on the Bretton Woods deal because it was contingent on other countries sucking up its imports and ensuring the gold-dollar exchange。 Only it didn’t have any surplus cash any more as manufacturing started to dwindle， monetary inflation rose by the Fed and public debt ballooned。 This created problems for the Bretton Woods system because it was contingent on trusting that the US could convert any global dollar into gold。 So what did Nixon do？ He just canceled the whole thing。 Yep。 Basically unilaterally Nixon said “we’re not going to convert dollars for gold anymore” effectively making the dollar a free floating fiat currency。 The Nixon Shock took the dollar from a very reliable IOU exchanged to gold to a speculative currency overnight。 To maintain power after Bretton Woods， the dollar was perfectly positioned as the international reserve currency， supplanting the gold standard。 The US then enjoyed the benefits over having a monopoly over the reserve currency of the world。 That’s like owning a gold mine if there were still a gold standard。 Instead of exporting goods， the US started exporting its dollar for German， Japanese， and Asian imports。 And then， the foreign elite took those exact same dollars and invested them back into Wallstreet。 This unleashed the age of financialized neoliberalism where the exotic financial products， American real estate and owning businesses became a sink for foreign investment dollars to return to their US motherland。 This is what Varoufakis refers to as the Global Minotaur: international funds flow back to the US as tribute to the hegemony。 China eventually joined the Global Minotaur as part of a “Dark Deal '' where US consumption was opened up to China to fuel their economy as long as China heavily invested back into Wall Street and US treasury bonds。 This is one of the fundamental reasons Chinese had such accelerated industrialization。 Now let’s jump to the rise of tech giants for a moment。 Apple invented a groundbreaking iphone that everyone suddenly owns and they opened it to third party apps， or other businesses to get exposed to customers。 And then Apple simply charged third party apps around 30% commission for purchases。 Think about that for a moment。 30。 Percent。 What Apple is doing is not capitalism， which seeks profits in open market competition。 No， what Apple is doing is collecting rent。 Google is doing the same thing with Android phones。 Amazon， Facebook， Youtube， and Tiktok are also doing the same thing。 They are all rent seekers。 They create a tech cloud of captured attention of customers and rent that attention to capitalists。 So the tech giants aren't capitalists at all—they’re cloudalists。 Here’s the real messed up part: feudal lords have ground-rent where they make serfs till the land and then take a huge part of their product。 With the cloudalists， they addict billions of people with behavior-modifying algorithms and draw them to create content that then attracts more users and more eyeballs to then charge rent for allowing access to businesses。 So， the cloudalists have cloud serfs， but they provide their product to the cloud for free。 Nothing like this has ever happened before。 This is techno feudalism and it is the triumph of rent over profit。 Profit is vulnerable to markets—rent is not。 Rent flows from the privileged access to things in a fixed supply。 Lots of rent seekers “profit wash” their rent to make it look like they have returns on their investments but they are not interested in profits—that’s a capitalist’s game。 Cloudalist’s thrive on shareholder value even in the face of negative profits much like Amazon。 Elon Musk showed his hand a few months after he purchased Twitter。 Yeah he talked about free speech absolution blah blah blah but he likely purchased it because being the richest man in the world wasn't enough: he wants to be a cloudalist， free of the shackles of capitalism and the state。 It was clear what his intentions were when he wanted to make Twitter an “everything app” like so many successful cloudalist platforms in China。That brings us to the right here and now in 2024。 Biden put a halt on shipping advanced chips and chip making tools to China， Russia and Iran and blacklist Chinese chip designers。 The goal is to limit China’s access to "advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers that are critical to （Chinese） military applications' ' according to Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo。 Under the guise of protecting national security against communism， the US would very much like to halt China’s technological advancement， but it’s not because of communism。 According to Varoufakis， Biden has started a Cold War with China with this move because China clearly has the upper hand with their cloudalist dominance。 So now we live a very， very weird life。 In America， we have two political parties: the alt-Right and Center。 Instead of class struggle， we have identity politics where the labor class is now fractured into political identities who loathe one another。 You have the left at civil war obsessed over the definition of gender， castigating privilege and fetishizing a hierarchy of oppression。 It’s all very， very weird and counterproductive。 On top of this， most people are now prodded， manipulated and exploited by the cloudalist’s to consume our attention and provide free content for their machine。 This fracturing of yourself takes an enormous toll on mental health， especially of the young。 Our communities are fractured， our families are fractured and even our personhood is atomized into a weird self-branding parody of ourselves to have on digital display。Varoufakis doesn’t believe that the old class struggle thing is going to work。 Organizing labor ect， may work on the capitalists， but it doesn’t work on the cloudalists。 They’re far too powerful and removed for strikes and organization to have much impact。 He offers some rather vague platitudes about using the cloud itself to mobilize action。 Imagine if all Amazon workers didn’t show up to work and all customers didn’t open the app for 12 hours。 The impact would be tremendous and haunting。 I just don’t imagine something like this ever happening。There is a lot more to say， but I’ll leave it at that。 This book offers a chilling narrative for our current reality that I don’t think is too far off。 。。。more
Erin Cook
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love to read this on my little Kindle app and then pop it into my little Goodreads account。 i think i might end it all
Yuko
，
History of rise and fall of capitalism and how techno feudalism has developed。 I liked how he offers us an idea in the way out of this very depressing and scary situation。
Ron
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Points for passion and creativity by weaving in foreign culture aspects， but this is a barely coherent ramble of an utterly implausible multigenerational global conspiracy。Sort of a fun read for the connections and insights into human/social， but disturbing tones of early 20th century communist export propaganda。 I imagine it’s a lot better in person in with a dram of raki。
reli
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Yanis' theory is that we live in technofeudalism， where tech giants get us working for them for free。 Every time we use Amazon， google， Lexa。。。 we are working for these lords for free， and unlike feudalism， there doesn't seem to be anything we or even our government can do to these corporations。At the same time， not all is lost。 If we protest we can cause great damage。 But the protest would be to manage to get a huge number of users to stay away from using Amazon for a few hours。The description Yanis' theory is that we live in technofeudalism， where tech giants get us working for them for free。 Every time we use Amazon， google， Lexa。。。 we are working for these lords for free， and unlike feudalism， there doesn't seem to be anything we or even our government can do to these corporations。At the same time， not all is lost。 If we protest we can cause great damage。 But the protest would be to manage to get a huge number of users to stay away from using Amazon for a few hours。The description of current reality when it comes to these corporations is easy to understand。 However， I have read two other books of his and I still feel there's a lot of history that I would like to one day read more about。 But I would need to read the same history from different authors。 。。。more
Pedro Pereira
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