What is Neo-Feudalism and how we can incite worthy change

2020 has been a crazy year, yet one that has let me increase my range in perspective on a bigger view. From Social unrest, global pandemic, environmental issues, and future homeownership, we are living in delicate situation that will only tip the future to arrive even sooner.

If we look back at history, Feudalism is the social system that flourished in 9th to 15th century Europe. The system was a way to structure society in which relationships were formed and derived from land ownership.

Power in feudal society started with the Monarchy, who lent power to nobles and high military commanders in exchange for their manpower and armies. These nobles would then promise land to knights in exchange for their lives fighting. Nobles would also lend some land to peasants, otherwise known as feudal serfs, who would basically work for free in exchange for this land.

Does this ring a bell as to what is happening to current day society?

While serfs are not being offered land (this is too expensive now anyway) in exchange for any service, they are being offered something else in exchange. They are offered a product or service in exchange for their personal data and digital identity. This is the idea behind digital feudalism.

Admittedly, society has come a long way since medieval times. We can thank drastic improvements in infrastructure, science, laws, and health services. Though the biggest changes in recent history comes from evolving industrial technology and ever growing computational power.

Yet therein lies a problem; and a threat to not only the global middle class but society.

With society continuing to be driven to a technocratic environment, we must be aware of the different manipulations, the data collection, and societal changes that technocratic leaders are trying to impose.

This is exactly what the current day monarchy can be imagined as the government and the nobles are the tech titans such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, etc.