The Rise of Corporate Sovereigns: From PMCs to Neo-Feudalism

Описание: The shift from state to corporate sovereignty, a phenomenon termed neo-feudalism.
Core Argument:
The increasing privatization of kinetic power by mega-corporations is pushing society toward a crisis of governance.
1. The Erosion of State Power:
States are outsourcing their monopoly on violence to Private Military Companies (PMCs) like the Wagner Group. This is driven by neoliberal calculus (cost-effectiveness, political deniability), creating legal gray zones where corporate military power grows unchecked.
2. The Corporate Sovereign:
Modern tech giants (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta) mirror the historical East India Company (EIC). They exert neo-feudal control through rent extraction (e.g. App Store's 30% cut) and monopolizing essential digital infrastructure (AWS, Azure), much like the EIC privatized state fiscal functions.
3. The Kinetic Tipping Point:
The soft power of tech corporations is evolving into hard power (autonomous drones, private security). If a corporation's kinetic capacity surpasses the state's military, the social contract dissolves, replacing citizenship with corporate serfdom.

Summarizes the argument that the increasing privatization of kinetic power by mega-corporations is leading to a crisis of governance, potentially replacing state sovereignty with corporate sovereignty, a phenomenon termed neo-feudalism. The main claim is that the current reliance of states on private military companies (PMCs) and the monopolistic control of essential digital infrastructure by tech giants are eroding the state's traditional monopoly on violence and governance, pushing society toward a kinetic tipping point where corporate power could exceed state power. The logic is structured in three parts: First, the erosion of state power is demonstrated by the rise of PMCs, driven by the neoliberal calculus of cost-effectiveness (avoiding long-term financial commitments to soldiers) and political plausible deniability (minimizing political fallout). This outsourcing of force creates a legal gray zone, allowing corporations to operate with impunity and prioritize profit-driven military solutions over political stability, as seen with the Wagner Group. Second, the historical and digital resurgence of the corporate sovereign is established by comparing modern tech giants (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta) to the East India Company (EIC). Modern corporations exert neo-feudal control through rent extraction (e.g., Apple's 30% App Store cut, Amazon's 50% seller revenue extraction) and control of essential digital infrastructure (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud). The EIC serves as the prototype, demonstrating how a trading firm can transition into a sovereign military power by maintaining a massive private army and acquiring the Diwani (the right to collect taxes), effectively privatizing the state's fiscal function. Third, the convergence of these trends suggests a kinetic tipping point where the soft power of tech giants evolves into physical force via autonomous drone swarms, orbital assets, and elite private security forces. If a corporation's kinetic capacity exceeds that of the constitutional army, the social contract dissolves, and citizenship is replaced by corporate serfdom.