Shadows of the algorithm

In the unfolding saga of the 21st century, the global economic landscape is undergoing a metamorphosis so profound that many traditional concepts struggle to keep pace. What appears on the surface as a natural extension of capitalism has morphed into something new and more insidious.

Greek economist and former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has termed this emerging order "technofeudalism," a system that, while wrapped in the garb of innovation and digital progress, is eroding the foundational principles of the market economy.

The rise of corporate digital platforms like Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft signifies not just a technological advancement but the rebirth of a landlord-like structure where control and profit flow not from production or trade but from the monopolisation of digital space and user behaviour.

Technofeudalism marks a departure from the defining dynamics of classical capitalism. Karl Marx identified capitalism's central conflict as that between the bourgeoisie, who control the means of production, and the proletariat, who sell their labour. Yet, in this new era, the boundaries of class distinction are increasingly blurred.

Workers now offer more than just their labour time; they contribute data, attention, and digital engagement through likes, shares, comments, and scrolling - actions that feed the data economy but bring no wage in return. These digital breadcrumbs are extracted by platforms using invisible algorithms and complex data pipelines, turning users into unacknowledged labourers in an economy where the rules are written in code and the masters are faceless corporations.

This system undermines one of the most historically stabilising forces in modern economies: the middle class. Once a beacon of economic progress and democratic stability, the middle class comprised public servants, professionals, small business owners, and intellectuals. They upheld values of civic responsibility and sought incremental progress.

However, with the advent of the gig economy and digital labour platforms such as Uber, Lyft, Foodpanda, Pathao, and various freelancing services, their traditional sources of livelihood are under siege. These jobs, often presented as flexible and liberating, are in reality unstable, underpaid, and devoid of long-term security.

Workers have no real employer, no rights to collective bargaining, and no guaranteed access to healthcare or retirement benefits. Instead, they live at the mercy of ratings, metrics, and algorithms they can neither question nor understand.

In Bangladesh, the implications of this shift are acutely visible. The dream of a 'Digital Bangladesh' has made significant strides in expanding access and technological capacity. However, this transformation also reveals a darker side - one where digital infrastructure becomes a new form of dependency rather than a source of empowerment.

Young freelancers joining platforms like Fiverr and Upwork often find themselves trapped in a race to the bottom. Rather than being compensated fairly, they face high commissions, algorithmic manipulation, and stiff global competition. The promises of self-employment and financial independence often crumble under the weight of an exploitative system that extracts more than it gives.

Even more alarming is the role digital finance has begun to play in enforcing control. Mobile banking, once heralded as a tool of inclusion, is now used to build detailed behavioural profiles through transaction data. Credit scoring systems assess users silently, offering loans with terms based on opaque criteria.

Most users are unaware of how these decisions are made or what recourse they have if they are denied or unfairly judged. This transforms digital finance into a mechanism of surveillance, diminishing financial autonomy and rendering individual behaviours into commodified risk factors.

Education, too, has not been spared. The pandemic-driven surge in online learning created an opening for EdTech platforms to thrive. While these platforms promise wider access, they often operate on a freemium model where only basic content is free.

True educational value lies behind paywalls, shutting out students from low-income families and reinforcing existing inequalities. The commercialisation of education deepens the divide, making it more challenging for the middle class to ascend the socioeconomic ladder through academic excellence.

Small and medium enterprises - once the stronghold of middle-class entrepreneurship - are also facing unprecedented challenges. As e-commerce giants expand their reach, local sellers must adapt or perish. These businesses are increasingly coerced into working through platforms like Daraz and Ajkerdeal, sacrificing profit margins through platform fees and losing visibility to algorithmic gatekeeping.

The intimate relationship once shared between seller and buyer is replaced by cold, data-driven interfaces. Local entrepreneurs become mere operators in a system they do not control, further diminishing the economic autonomy that once defined the middle class.

Even the housing market reflects the distortions of technofeudalism. Platforms such as Airbnb have redefined homes as income-generating assets rather than just places to live. This commodification drives up rents and reduces housing availability for permanent residents.

The result is a housing crisis in urban centres, where affordable living becomes elusive, especially for middle- and lower-middle-income groups. A roof over one's head - once considered a basic right - is becoming a speculative venture.

But technofeudalism's most insidious element is its ability to entangle itself with state power. Traditional Marxist theory portrays the state as a protector of capitalist interests. Under technofeudalism, however, the state becomes a junior partner to tech giants. Whether through biometric surveillance systems, digital ID infrastructure, or data-sharing arrangements, states are increasingly relying on corporate technology to manage citizens.

This symbiosis concentrates power in the hands of both state and private tech empires, leaving citizens with diminishing control over their data and rights. The democratic promise of accountability and transparency evaporates when decisions are outsourced to unaccountable code.

Despite this grim landscape, resistance is not futile. History reminds us that systems of exploitation have been overthrown before. Just as feudalism gave way to capitalism through intellectual awakening, commercial innovation, and class struggle, so too can technofeudalism be resisted. The seeds of such resistance are already visible.

Awareness is growing among digital workers, freelancers, and gig labourers. Civil society groups and NGOs in Bangladesh and elsewhere are increasingly advocating for data protection, digital rights, and platform accountability. Movements advocating open-source alternatives and platform cooperatives - democratically controlled digital platforms - are emerging as beacons of hope in an otherwise darkening digital environment.

But this resistance must grow deeper and more structured. A collective reimagining of the digital commons is essential. Public ownership and democratic governance of digital infrastructure, fair taxation of tech monopolies, and regulatory safeguards for user rights are vital components of a sustainable alternative.

Governments must invest in building independent, inclusive digital ecosystems that serve the public good rather than corporate greed. Citizens must be educated not just in digital literacy, but in the political and economic dimensions of the digital age. Only then can the invisible chains of technofeudalism be broken.

At the heart of this struggle lies a simple truth: labour creates value. The work of digital users - be it a click, post, or purchase - underpins the vast fortunes of today's tech empires. Yet the real workers receive nothing in return. The platform economy has masked this exploitation in a glittering veil of convenience and connectivity. But behind every glossy user interface is a meticulously engineered system of extraction.

As this system grows more pervasive, the dreams of the middle class, once grounded in steady jobs, home ownership, good education, and social dignity, are becoming increasingly unattainable. The role that the middle class once played in democratic movements and nation-building is now being reduced to passive consumption and digital submission. The promise of prosperity is being replaced by precarity, and the architecture of exploitation is being codified.

To brace the future, a new vision must emerge - one where digital technology is not a tool of domination but a means of liberation. This will require courage, imagination, and collective action. Technofeudalism may be the defining challenge of our time, but like all empires built on exploitation, it, too, can be dismantled.

Dr Matiur Rahman is a researcher and development worker.

matiurrahman588@gmail.com