Global Dialogues

Karl Marx once celebrated the power of technological development under capitalism, believing it would lead to a bright socialist future. Today, it is clear that his dream of a technological utopia has not come true. Rather, technological progress appears increasingly reactionary, destroying both our society and our planet.

While mainstream discourses continue to celebrate the future of capitalism characterized by full automation, AI, and biotechnologies, a gloomier vision is beginning to haunt the world. Amid the prolonged stagnation of high-income capitalist economies and the expanding economic inequality, tech oligarchs have emerged as “cloudalists,” the new anti-democratic ruling class of the digital economy, extracting data and rent from us.

Today’s digital economy is markedly different from the capitalism of the 20th century, which featured economic growth driven by mass production and mass consumption alongside redistribution to the working class. Despite the glamorous promises of innovation through competitive startups, horizontal networks, and increasing autonomy, the concentration of capital among cloudalists leads to stagnation in productivity and growth, as well as the atomization of society.

The paradox here is twofold. First, despite rapid technological development, capitalist economies in the global North experience low rates of productivity growth and stagnating economic growth. Secondly, even as economic inequality and wealth concentration are accelerating—making the contradictions of capitalism increasingly acute—anti-capitalist movements seem to be disappearing. This is not what Marx would have anticipated.

In this challenging situation, today’s techno-optimists are not focused on saving the planet; rather, they are more concerned with finding ways to protect their wealth and livelihoods in the face of impending political and ecological catastrophe. In fact, some tech elites no longer conceal their ambitions for a “feudal” form of rule. Techno-libertarianism abandons Enlightenment ideals and instead promotes liberation through technology exclusively for the elite.

Nevertheless, digital platforms are skillfully shaping us into servants who willingly provide data and rent to tech companies. We spend our free time using smartphones and communicate in ways that make it easier for AIs to respond, trusting their responses and adjusting our actions accordingly. AI and algorithms make decisions, while we simply follow them. In this process, we may not even realize that our emotions and desires are manipulated by these algorithms.

In the past, the concentration and exercise of authoritarian power were visible, requiring dictators to dramatically display their authority to the populace. However, such overt displays attracted condemnation and became targets for democratization revolutions. Today, tech elites do not need to take such risks. While maintaining the appearance of free will, they can thoroughly collect data from citizens and guide their actions and desires through algorithms and nudges for specific purposes. The feedback loop system of digital capital may superficially promote liberal and democratic values, but behind the scenes, it facilitates the surveillance of individuals and directs them toward compliance with authoritarian power without friction. 

Everything operates so smoothly that there are no points of resistance. The optimization of bodily and emotional mechanization in favor of computers could lead to a world reminiscent of 1984, one that even George Orwell could not have imagined. In other words, it is a dystopia where a facade of freedom exists on the surface, but the reality is a totalitarian regime characterized by the collusion between AI and dictatorial power.

In this situation, it remains unclear how a new vision of emancipation could emerge in the near future. Economic, political, and social instability will continue to escalate, while capitalism exacerbates existing crises. Authoritarianism serves as a sign of the weaknesses inherent in today’s digital capitalism. The dual crisis of capitalist accumulation and anti-systemic resistance will persist. Techno-optimism is unfounded, yet there is little space for other emancipatory imaginations. The future appears bleak.

Kohei Saito is a philosopher and activist who sees degrowth as the way out of the global climate crisis.