Taxing Rent Under Technofeudalism

Bry presents a reader's reflections on Yanis Varoufakis's Technofeudalism, noting its argument that modern economies have shifted from capitalism's profit-driven model to one dominated by platform-based rents, which exert significant power. This observation leads into a second source proposing a radical overhaul of taxation by differentiating between profit, earned through productive activities, and rent, considered unearned income derived from controlling scarce assets like land, data, and intellectual property. The author argues that this distinction is crucial under "technofeudalism," where rent extraction is pervasive, and suggests methods for identifying and then heavily taxing rents through measures like adjusted corporate reporting and sector-specific levies. The ultimate aim is to redirect economic activity towards value creation rather than "parasitic extraction," highlighting the political challenges and the necessity of such changes for the survival of markets and democracy.https://philosophics.blog/2025/04/12/technofeudalism/