It’s the most wonderful time of the year for retailers. As Christmas approaches, shopping for things like food and drinks for dinner, toys for gifts, electronics, and clothing for events increases. It seems wild not to believe that capitalism is perfectly healthy, but…
But former Greek economy minister Yanis Varoufakis not only believes Greece is in decline, but insists it is already over. Who killed him? Well, according to him, Amazon and Alibaba among others…
My Wildest Prediction is a new podcast series from Euronews Business where we boldly imagine the future with business and technology visionaries. In this third episode, Tom Goodwin speaks with Greek economist, academic and politician Yanis Varoufakis to find out what he believes brought about the end of capitalism and what the future holds. I imagine.
So once capitalism ends…what happens next?
“My guess, and this is a controversial hypothesis, is that capitalism is already over,” Varoufakis argues.
According to Varoufakis, we are returning to feudalism. Rather than the kind of feudalism left behind by the industrial revolution and the rise of the middle class, it is a new form: “technological feudalism.”
Feudal system is a system characterized by a hierarchy of land ownership and obligations, with feudal lords granting land to their vassals in exchange for military service or other obligations.
Well, now the lord is the owner of the big technology and the users are the vassals. Vassals hand over data in exchange for service.
This is the death of capitalism that Varoufakis describes in his new book, Techno-Feudalism: What Killed Capitalism.
Varoufakis points to online retail giant Amazon as an example of a lord. Amazon may look like a marketplace, he says, but it “acts more like a cloud fiefdom that belongs to one man, where the accumulation of wealth is non-commercial, but on which the accumulation of wealth is based.” A type of rental. ”
“Every time you buy something on Amazon, 30 to 40 percent of the price goes to[Jeff]Bezos, not the market,” he added.
Varoufakis writes about techno-feudalism, explaining the concept in the form of a letter to his father, Giorgios, a steel factory worker who died in 2021 at the age of 96.
Varoufakis says he is envious of his father’s lifestyle.
“No matter how hard you have to work, no matter how small, you can at least fence off a part of your life, and within that fence you can remain autonomous, self-determined, and free.”
According to him, “technological feudalism” has destroyed that fence.
“We are all happy little slaves who love slavery,” he insists.
But can technology save us?
Greece’s former economy minister is not optimistic about “technological feudalism”. He believes it won’t end well.
“As the world moves towards disaster, income will be rapidly concentrated in the hands of those who generate nothing but the right and opportunity to extract it from others.”
Can technology, if used properly, save us?
“Our technology is a force for both good and evil, and if evil prevails, it’s our fault,” Varoufakis says, insisting that technology is just a tool.
He believes there are two solutions. They are socio-political rather than technical.
One is to end free services to break the tyranny of big tech companies.
“So if you’re an app, you’re getting paid directly by people who are using your app, rather than indirectly through advertising. That way you’re not taking over households completely.”
The second is to change corporate law to make companies more democratic.
He envisions a scenario in which every employee of a company, especially a large company, owns a single share of stock that cannot be traded, like a library card given to a college student. Although this share does not represent financial equality, it does give each employee the right to vote on company decisions. The idea is that those who make a greater contribution to the company’s success will receive greater financial rewards.
According to Varoufakis, this change will revolutionize both stock and labor markets, with market-based cooperatives owning algorithms in a non-exploitative way and micropayments being paid to people who use these algorithms. It is said that it will happen.
“Hope is my duty and I cling to it,” he concluded. “Contrary to all empirical evidence.”