Photo Credit: Melville House Publishing
The digital revolution may be turning waged workers into cloud proles, who live increasingly precarious, stressful lives under the invisible thumb of algorithmic bosses…. But that’s not the most significant fact about cloud capital…. The true revolution cloud capital has inflicted on humanity is the conversion of billions of us into willing cloud serfs volunteering to labour for nothing to reproduce cloud capital for the benefit of its owners.
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Technofeudalism made things infinitely worse when it demolished the fence that used to provide the liberal individual with a refuge from the market. Cloud capital has shattered the individual into fragments of data, an identity comprised of choices as expressed by clicks, which its algorithms are able to manipulate. It has produced individuals who are not so much possessive as possessed, or rather persons incapable of being self-possessed.
Excerpts from Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis, published by Melville House Publishing, UK & USA, 2024, pp. 88 & 182.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN BOOK
Technofeudalism: Term used by author to describe the economic system we live in today. To call it hyper-capitalism, or platform capitalism, or rentier-capitalism would miss the great transformation of our society currently underway. Capitalism’s profits and markets are being replaced by cloud rent, in which Apple played a leading role.
Cloud Capital: The physical agglomeration of networked machinery, software, AI-driven algorithms, and communications hardware crisscrossing the whole planet and performing a wide variety of tasks.
Cloudalists: The technofeudal ruling class and owners of cloud capital: Steve Jobs (Apple), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Page & Sergey Brin (Google), and Elon Musk (Tesla).
Cloud Fiefs: Digital trading platforms on which buyers and sellers are matched by the algorithms of cloud capital. The Apple Store was the first cloud fief.
Cloud Proles: Waged workers driven to their physical limits by cloud-based algorithms used in factories, warehouses, and other workplaces. All in the name of efficiency. The Amazon warehouse is a well-known example.
Cloud Serfs: Persons unattached to any corporation (non-workers) who chose to labor long and often hard, for free, to reproduce cloud capital’s stock. Our posts, videos, photos, reviews, and lots of clicking make digital platforms (cloud fiefs) more attractive to other users.
Cloud Rent: Payment cloudalists extract from the vassal capitalists for access to cloud fiefs. Wealth produced by unwaged third-party developers, from whose sales the cloudalists extract a fixed cut, is not profit. It is cloud rent, the digital equivalent of ground rent. For example, Steve Jobs invited “third-party developers” to use free Apple software with which to produce applications (apps) for sale via the Apple Store. This cost a 30 percent ground rent paid to Apple on all their revenues.
Vassal Capitalists: Capitalist producers who, to sell their commodities, must pay cloud rent for access to the cloudalists’ cloud fiefs.
Yaris Varoufakis is an economist, political leader, and a sought-after keynote speaker on global finance and an acute analyst on the changing political landscape and how economics are evolving. Born in Athens in 1961, he served as the Minister of Finance for Greece in 2015. Before entering politics, he worked for many years as a professor of economics in Britain, Australia, and the USA. He is co-founder of the international grassroots movement DiEM25 and an economics professor at the University of Athens.
He is the author of numerous bestselling books: Adults in the Room (2017), a memoir of his time as finance minister, and an economic history of Europe, And the Weak Suffer What They Must? (2017). His latest book Raise Your Soul! (2025) tells the story of the last 100 years through the voices of five remarkable women.
Three Worlds One Vision 
It’s all rather beyond me. I steer clear of most of it
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I don’t blame you, Derrick. I do what I can to limit my exposure.
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A chilling and clarifying way of naming what so many of us feel but rarely articulate: we are no longer simply “users” of platforms, but unpaid workers who help reproduce the very systems that enclose us. Varoufakis’s distinction between cloud proles and cloud serfs captures both sides of this new order—those driven to exhaustion by algorithms at work, and those of us who donate our time, attention, and creativity to keep the cloud fiefs thriving.
Thank you for sharing these excerpts and definitions; they make the contours of technofeudalism much easier to see—and harder to ignore. The scariest realization is that it seems we’ve long passed the point of no return.
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You’re welcome, Randall. Varoufakis’s book makes sense of the economic transformations we’ve experienced since the 2008 world financial crisis with the rise of the “gig economy.” Cloud capital grew with the expansion of “cloud fiefs” taking advantage of the growing numbers of gig workers. I agree that we’re long passed the point of no return.
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Thank you for bringing this work to my attention, Rosaliene. I should read it. Cloud technology is just technology, as is AI, ML, IOT, etc. Very useful at that. But hard to handle for the human race, which is prone to subjecting itself to structures, authority and what they decide are truths. I can recommend a brilliant recent essay for The Guardian by Cory Doctorow, focusing on AI (companies)
I hope this link works: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/18/tech-ai-bubble-burst-reverse-centaur?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other. If not, the essay, titled Why AI Companies Will Fail, by Cory Doctorow, was published in The Guardian (online edition) on January 18, last.
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Thanks for sharing that!
J
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Dingenom, thanks for sharing the link to The Guardian article. More distressing news. Cloud technology, for good and for bad, has reshaped our lives. Understanding how it works is essential to curb its excesses.
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I have taken note of the books you propose by Yanis Varoufakis, this very interesting man! Thank you very much, Rosaliene.
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You’re welcome, Martina. I learned about Varoufakis’ work through blogger Friedrich, an Austrian Daoist artist, who blogs at Zettl Fine Arts (https://zettl.blog/).
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Many thanks, Rosaliene, for your advice! I know Friedrich and have probably missed that post ! Have a good week 🌺
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My pleasure, Martina. Friedrich mentioned the book in a comment to one of my blog posts.
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It’s a whole other language that I am merely an unpaid worker in a workforce that I don’t understand. The book sounds very eye-opening. Thanks for the introduction to it. Maggie
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You’re welcome, Maggie. The book was, for sure, an eye-opener for me, since I never fully understood how “the cloud” was affecting our lives.
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Yes, we are headed backward in terms of governance and the station in the world of the average man. It is said that the serfs of times past drank a lot. No wonder. Thanks, Rosaliene.
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Dr. Stein, Varoufakis does an excellent job in comparing the medieval feudal system with our current techno-economic system. You’re spot on about the drinking. According to the Anglo-Caribbean historical record, the British colonialists introduced their cultural habit of heavy drinking into the former colonies. I’m guessing the same was true in their North American colonies. I don’t know it’s also applicable to other European colonialists.
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A good post Rosaliene. Sometimes, I am lost in a cloud…in my own mind, but I am not a fan of this cloud economy. Making money for nothing and using vast amounts of energy to do it is just crazy, whether it be social influencers, clickbait-ers, bitcoin-ers or AI. I can understand some computer software subscriptions, so you always have the latest version, but a subscription for the heated seats in your car?? I have my cloud backup turned off on my computer, preferring to store my backup on more conventional devices. Algorithms cloud our minds and our decisions and big tech likes it that way.
Have a great Sunday.
Allan
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Thanks very much, Allan. You’re not alone in being lost in a cloud, of both kinds. I’ve also turned off the cloud backup on my computer. After Apple informed me that I had used up my free cloud storage and would have to start paying a monthly fee, I deleted all the photos that I had stored.
I was unaware that there’s a subscription fee to have heated seats in your computerized car. Yet another way that we are required to pay “cloud rent.” Check out the excerpt about the Tesla car, quoted in my response to Mara.
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A chilling and informative post, Rosaliene.
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Thanks very much, Dave. The book was an eye-opener for me.
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Yes! This is indeed a scary time especially for younger folk!
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Ashley, our younger folk are also the ones who are quick to embrace the new technology without question. Parenting cannot be easy in these times.
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News today: France has banned social media for kids under 15, following in Australia’s path. And phone usage in high schools will be banned too.
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That’s great news, James. Beginning this month here in California, smartphone use is prohibited in all school districts.
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Oh, I didn’t know that. And I live in CA too! Some less positive stuff has been dominating my news feed
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James, here’s the legislation. Though schools here in LA County have begun implementing the prohibition, I’ve just noted that schools have until July 1, 2026 to comply.
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/23/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-to-limit-the-use-of-smartphones-during-school-hours/
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Thanks for the post, book and breakdown of terminology. This has been a major topic of conversation lately, but I’d yet to do any research to put the words with my thoughts.
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You’re welcome, Tammy. It’s difficult keeping up with the technological changes that are affecting our lives.
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We’re all participants in the game. And some of us are victims too.
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So true, Neil. Unless we live completely off the grid, I see no way that we can avoid being a part of the system. So much of our everyday lives is linked to the cloud in some way.
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Thanks for sharing this, Rosaliene. I’ve seen Varoufakis talk about this on YouTube and it is both terrifying and fascinating and way over my head but some of it leaked through to my brain. He said something about a Tesla knowing more about its owner than the owner. And then to think about how it all accelerates the concentration of wealth and power to the few. I’m really starting to think twice about writing my blog as I feel I’m just adding to the problem. But, I’m just a drop in a mind blowing bucket of cloud data.
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Hey Mara!
I just checked out (and subscribed to!) your blog. I was expecting your blog to be about tech, considering your concerns. But no – it’s a wonderful blog about plants 🙂
I don’t think you should be concerned. In fact, in the age of media outlets caving to authoritarian regimes, we need more independent minds publishing their thoughts. I actually prefer to keep up with events and learn new things through the eyes of fellow bloggers these days.
Keep going!
J
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I’m glad you enjoyed and subscribed to my blog, jkaybay! No, I’m no techie. You’re so right. So much more truth and alternative perspectives can be found in personal blogs and independent media than in mainstream media which in my opinion is mostly trash and propaganda. So, a little “cloud” isn’t a bad thing…🙂
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Mara, it’s our new reality in the technological age. We have to somehow balance the good with the bad. I was also surprised to learn that every circuit of the Tesla car is wired into cloud capital. Varoufakis noted (p. 91):
Besides giving Tesla the power to switch off one of its cars remotely, if for instance the driver fails to service it as the company wishes, merely by driving around Tesla owners are uploading in real time information (including what music they are listening to!) that enriches the company’s cloud capital. They may not think of themselves as cloud serfs but, alas, that’s precisely what the proud owners of new, wonderfully aerodynamically gleaming Teslas are.
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I love that last sentence. What an age! Well, I suppose as our resources for powering this “cloud” dwindle, so will the “cloud”. Until then, you’re right, we must find balance.
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I have seen glimmers of this system on Facebook and WP. Thanks for explaining the key terms. Are we more than the sum of our devices?
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You’re welcome, Rebecca.
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This is super helpful—thanks for the post, book suggestion, and explaining the terminology
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You’re welcome, Ravindra. Thanks very much.
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Haunting excerpts aren’t they. I appreciate you sharing highlights from his book and terms, unfamiliar to me. Eye-opening.
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You’re welcome, Michele. It was, for sure, eye-opening for me. I’m not aware if the terms are used here in the USA.
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Well, that was mind boggling, but necessary to be aware of. Makes me want to go outside more without my phone which I will probably misplace more after reading this. I don’t like to buy/download any apps that want my password, but they’re on my phone and laptop just the same. Thanks for the motivation to reduce my time on the devices.
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It is, indeed, mind boggling, JoAnna. I keep my apps to just the essential. All the best in reducing your time on your favorite platforms.
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Thanks.
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What an interesting post! Wow, I’m not familiar with cloud technology. I have to confess, I struggle enough with modern technology as it is! My son who studies computing science would be fascinated by this though -I’ll share it with him later. 🌸
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Thanks very much, Ada. Your son may already be familiar with Varoufakis’ work.
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You learn something new every day and this is quite mind boggling, Rosaliene. Thanks for sharing … wild alright!! xx
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You’re welcome, Cindy. It helped to make sense of the way these tech-billionaires get richer while most of us are struggling.
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Technofeudalism and Cloud Capital caught my attention. I’m adding this book to my list. Thank you, Rosaliene.
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You’re welcome, Edward. For a book on economics, I found it accessible and engaging.
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That’s good to know because some of those can be a little dry sometimes.
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The world is all changing so quickly! 🫠
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So true, Linda! The scary part is that we don’t see some changes until they’re entrenched and difficult to undo.
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I agree – deep breath – we still have to try. xx
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Interesting and a bit confusing to me. Thank you for telling us about this, Rosaliene.
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You’re welcome, Mary. Varoufakis does an excellent job in making it comprehensible.
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