Amazon's Stranglehold on Modern Society: How Tech Giants Became Feudal Lords
In an era where free markets and capitalism once ruled, Amazon has become the embodiment of a new economic order: technofeudalism. This phenomenon sees powerful tech giants like Amazon dominating entire sectors, exerting control over digital infrastructure, and manipulating consumer behavior to extract unprecedented profits.
Amazon's grip on society is rooted in its unparalleled influence over cloud computing platforms. The company's AWS serves as the backbone for numerous industries, including finance, healthcare, and public administration, rendering it difficult for firms to switch to alternative services due to the substantial "switching costs" involved. This has led Amazon to become a virtual landlord of digital infrastructure, with other companies acting as vassals beholden to its vast cloud fief.
Within its warehouses, Amazon exercises minute-by-minute surveillance over workers, utilizing handheld scanners and algorithms to track productivity, monitor behavior, and measure every aspect of employee activity. The company claims these measures are necessary for ensuring safety and efficiency but have been described by critics as excessive and controlling.
On the consumer side, Amazon's algorithms train on each click, scroll, search, and purchase to predict individual needs and manipulate desires. This creates a system where consumers unwittingly labor to fuel Amazon's cloud capital accumulation, with the company taking up to 40% of sale prices from sellers in what is termed "cloud rents."
Governments are also falling prey to Amazon's dominance, with key ministerial departments relying on AWS for data storage and communication. The company has even ventured into surveillance, partnering with Palantir to support law enforcement efforts in the US and collaborating with Google on a cloud contract for the Israeli state.
However, there are signs of resistance emerging against this technofeudal system. The Make Amazon Pay campaign, which began as a workers' rights movement, has grown into a coalition of various groups united under a shared banner of opposition to Amazon's influence. Their demands range from decent wages and safe workplaces to collective bargaining, climate action, tax justice, and an end to Amazon's entanglement with surveillance agencies.
While the fight against technofeudalism is still in its early stages, it represents a hopeful shift towards planetary-scale coordination and cooperation. As industries increasingly rely on cloud capital, the need for collective resistance grows more urgent. The Make Amazon Pay campaign offers a glimpse into this nascent alliance and serves as a call to action for those seeking to reclaim control over their digital lives and challenge the dominance of tech giants like Amazon.
In an era where free markets and capitalism once ruled, Amazon has become the embodiment of a new economic order: technofeudalism. This phenomenon sees powerful tech giants like Amazon dominating entire sectors, exerting control over digital infrastructure, and manipulating consumer behavior to extract unprecedented profits.
Amazon's grip on society is rooted in its unparalleled influence over cloud computing platforms. The company's AWS serves as the backbone for numerous industries, including finance, healthcare, and public administration, rendering it difficult for firms to switch to alternative services due to the substantial "switching costs" involved. This has led Amazon to become a virtual landlord of digital infrastructure, with other companies acting as vassals beholden to its vast cloud fief.
Within its warehouses, Amazon exercises minute-by-minute surveillance over workers, utilizing handheld scanners and algorithms to track productivity, monitor behavior, and measure every aspect of employee activity. The company claims these measures are necessary for ensuring safety and efficiency but have been described by critics as excessive and controlling.
On the consumer side, Amazon's algorithms train on each click, scroll, search, and purchase to predict individual needs and manipulate desires. This creates a system where consumers unwittingly labor to fuel Amazon's cloud capital accumulation, with the company taking up to 40% of sale prices from sellers in what is termed "cloud rents."
Governments are also falling prey to Amazon's dominance, with key ministerial departments relying on AWS for data storage and communication. The company has even ventured into surveillance, partnering with Palantir to support law enforcement efforts in the US and collaborating with Google on a cloud contract for the Israeli state.
However, there are signs of resistance emerging against this technofeudal system. The Make Amazon Pay campaign, which began as a workers' rights movement, has grown into a coalition of various groups united under a shared banner of opposition to Amazon's influence. Their demands range from decent wages and safe workplaces to collective bargaining, climate action, tax justice, and an end to Amazon's entanglement with surveillance agencies.
While the fight against technofeudalism is still in its early stages, it represents a hopeful shift towards planetary-scale coordination and cooperation. As industries increasingly rely on cloud capital, the need for collective resistance grows more urgent. The Make Amazon Pay campaign offers a glimpse into this nascent alliance and serves as a call to action for those seeking to reclaim control over their digital lives and challenge the dominance of tech giants like Amazon.
. It feels like they're getting way too powerful and controlling. I mean, have you seen how Amazon dominates cloud computing? It's like they're a virtual landlord, renting out space to other businesses without giving them much choice 
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. And those algorithms that predict what we want and need? That's just manipulation, right? I think people need to start pushing back against this kind of control and demanding better working conditions, fair prices, and transparency from these tech giants 
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. And I'm glad to see other groups joining forces to challenge Amazon's influence. Maybe this is a sign that we can start building a more equal digital landscape 
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but at what cost? its like we're losing our autonomy with every swipe of that credit card 
i mean, i guess its good that governments are starting to take notice tho 
but we need more than just awareness, we need actual change 
It's wild how they're manipulating consumer behavior to make even more profits, too. Like, we should be paying Amazon for the privilege of shopping on their platform, not the other way around! 
#AmazonResists
. Think about it, if they're getting such a huge chunk of sales from AWS, what's the real motive? They're not just making bank off of us consumers, I believe they're also collecting data on us that can be used to predict and control consumer behavior 
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. What if they're not just storing info, but actually creating a digital trail of breadcrumbs for Amazon to follow? It's like they're playing both sides against each other, using Amazon as their proxy to get what they want.
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. They have these huge cloud computers that lots of companies use, so they're like the landlords of the internet. It's crazy! And then they watch what you do on their site and try to sell you stuff you don't even need 
, I gotta correct you here... it's not just Amazon 
, it's all the major tech giants! They're not just monopolizing cloud computing, they're also dominating e-commerce, social media, and even news outlets 
. And don't even get me started on their data collection practices - it's like they have an army of algorithms spying on us 24/7 
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. It's true that Amazon's "cloud rents" can be pretty steep, but what about all the other big players like Google, Facebook, and Apple? They're not exactly innocent bystanders either 
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. We can't just rely on one movement to save the day 
" Tech giants being feudal lords? 
It's like they own the place! 
But for real though, it's not just about the money... 
And it's not just consumers who are affected - governments are basically handing over their data to these companies for free 
, it's like they're feudal lords or something, controlling all these industries with their cloud computing platform aws. i mean, who needs to switch to a different service when you've already built up so much debt and complexity? plus, they're watching us everywhere in the warehouses, tracking every move we make 
. it's like they're trying to create this whole ecosystem around themselves where we're just along for the ride. and don't even get me started on how they're manipulating our behavior with their algorithms 
. It's crazy to think that governments are even relying on them for stuff 
. Like, I was browsing online the other day and Amazon kept suggesting products based on my past purchases 
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. It's cool to see that resistance is growing 
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. Who knows what they're really collecting and using for? And what's with all this "cloud rents" nonsense? It feels like we're just handing over our money to these companies without any say in how it's being used 
. But you know what's even more worrying is that governments are falling for it too 
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. Amazon's algorithms are pretty clever and all, but do we really want them making our shopping experiences for us? 
. It's all about the money, but is that really worth sacrificing our freedom to choose? Hmm, I don't know, I'm torn 
. Maybe we can find a way to make tech work for us instead of against us 
. Let's make some noise and reclaim our planet – one cloud at a time 
!