this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024

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258

Are We Transitioning From Capitalism to Silicon Serfdom? (jacobin.com)

submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Are We Transitioning From Capitalism to Silicon Serfdom?::The idea that we are entering an era of techno-feudalism that will be worse than capitalism is chilling and controversial. We asked former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis to elucidate this idea, explain how we got here, and map out some alternatives.

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[–] dave@feddit.uk 75 points 1 year ago

Is that a frickin rotating chair?

[+] umbrella@lemmy.ml 48 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] xia@links.hackliberty.org 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

...with crypto-locked bootloaders/ECMs/tractors to make sure none of the serfs threaten the king's power with digital pitchforks.

[–] stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub 4 points 1 year ago

But law could easily correct that… which means we’re still a democracy with heavy capitalist influence bordering into full blown serfdom, sure.

[–] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In capitalism, the core problem is power of business owners over employees. Tech giants hold incredible power over all of their consumers - aka the entire world.

The most famous billionaires are all tech giants like Zuck, Gates, Musk, Bezos. It's because they are in the news all the time as they decide over everybody's life now, despite not being elected.

YouTube, Insta, Tik Tok, Twitter, Facebook and friends are the main way political opinions are formed, especially for teenagers. That power should be in the hands of millions of teachers, activists and journalists, not a handful of billionaires.

Markets are supposed to keep capitalism in check. That doesn't work so good but they seem to be even more ineffective in keeping the tech market in check, especially social media.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Markets aren't supposed to keep capitalism in check. Capitalism is an exploitation of commercial systems in order to maximize profits. Capitalism is at direct odds with the free market self-regulating. Capitalism is the bastardization of free market policies and destroys innovation.

[–] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago

I agree with all but the first sentence. Markets do a terrible job at keeping capitalism in check but they are supposed to, at least that's what capitalism stans argue.

[–] Zrybew@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Dafuq is he wearing?!?

[–] ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world 65 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Amazon Basics “Douchebag Collection”

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

🤣

[–] maynarkh@feddit.nl 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The backrest cover of an Eastern European long distance bus seat.

[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Bus seat couture

[–] ApeNo1@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

I presume his arms are detachable and interchangeable. He is currently sporting his “business meeting” arms, will switch to his “swole bro” arms when he goes to the gym, and then has a set of shorter arms that he couples with trousers with very deep pockets when he is reviewing the salaries of the lower paid Amazon employees.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Looks like knockoff mo-cap.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Not "Silicon Serfdom", but Serfdom nonetheless you fucking idiot. You're helping.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

How do you transition something that's never really changed?

[–] BrazenSigilos@ttrpg.network 2 points 1 year ago

I see someone else also listens to Factually! podcasts.

[+] redfox@infosec.pub -9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Can someone explain how these organizations 'undermine the economy and democracy'?

there's room for arguments regarding exploited workers in any industry, but tech is usually compensated well , at least compared to some industry. Maybe they are not compensated well in other developing nations?
not sure how cloud/tech companies undermine democracy or economies

[–] Fudoshin@feddit.uk 36 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Directly: They lobby governments and their size means they can be more powerful than the governments they're trying to influence. Do you think the lobbying is for the benefit of society?
Indirectly: monopolies and other predatorycorporate behaviour like data selling and privacy erosion.

[+] redfox@infosec.pub -9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

more powerful than the government

That's probably a matter of perception on my part. In the US, I don't see them that way. They still get called to the carpet by Congress and fined. Sometimes I think the fines are low enough they consider it just a cost of doing business.

I don't think small nations have that same feeling, especially when dealing with a US based company, or a national customer base that's large enough to make them feel it if they were lost.

data selling and privacy

Well, at least the EU is fighting on those fronts. Props to them.

[–] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They get yelled at by old men in procedures that typically make their interrogators look foolish at best, then are fined what amounts to a minor rounding error and change nothing. Because for the time being, congress and the donors that get congress elected benefit from the absurd profits being collected.

[–] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Right? All the fuckers yelling at them are 70-90 years old and don't even understand the shit they are yelling at him about. They certainly understand how their portfolio is doing, though.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Read or listen to Yanis explaining the concept he described as techno feudalism. He typically does a great job at it.