Critique of the techno-feudal allegory: digital platforms, value, and fetishism in contemporary capitalism

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the thesis of technofeudalism, which proposes the emergence of a new mode of production centered on the algorithmic domination of digital platforms. It adopts an immanent analysis of the works of authors such as Varoufakis, Durand, and Dean, confronted with Marxian political economy critique. The study investigates whether these formulations fall into theoretical fetishism by mistaking apparent forms of domination for ruptures with the foundations of capitalism. The results indicate that, far from replacing labor exploitation and surplus value production, digital platforms intensify historically developed forms of commercial, interest-bearing, and fictitious capital. It concludes that Marxist categories remain essential for understanding the logic of value valorization in contemporary capitalism and that the technofeudal allegory obscures rather than clarifies current mechanisms of labor expropriation.