Once upon a time, nations were ruled by kings who claimed divine right, churches that dictated law, and empires that conquered for glory. The people, for the most part, were pawns in someone else’s game. But humanity got clever. We separated church from state, we overthrew monarchies, we built democracies where power was meant to be accountable to the people. It was a long, brutal struggle, but we learned that governance should serve the many, not just the few.
And now? We are sleepwalking into a new kind of feudalism. The monarchs wear suits, their castles are corporate boardrooms, and their battlegrounds are digital infrastructures, financial networks, and regulatory loopholes. The state, once sovereign, is now little more than a middle manager taking orders from those who actually pull the strings.
Welcome to the era of the corporate takeover.
The Great Divide: Government vs. Corporations.
Governments tax you. They (theoretically) build roads, maintain security, regulate markets, and attempt, often clumsily, to uphold some semblance of social order. You may grumble about taxes, inefficiency, and corruption, but at least there’s a shred of accountability. The government owes you something in return. Indeed, the mandate of a democratically elected government is to take the minimum (in taxes, freedoms, etc.) and offer the maximum (facilities, services, security, etc.) in return.
Corporations? They extract. Service fees, transaction cuts, licensing agreements, and subscriptions just to access your own damn property. What do they owe you? Nothing. And yet, their influence over your daily life is far greater than any government. One controls through policy, the other through monopoly. You see, the mandate of the corporation is to find the highest price you can pay (and get you to pay it) while giving as little in return, the smallest minimum that will keep you from walking away. This is the exact opposite of a government’s.
For a while, these two coexisted. Democracy and the rule of law allowed capitalism to flourish, even while keeping it in check (and honest… in a way), and capitalism, in turn, made democracy possible by creating a system where people made enough to pay taxes, thereby funding democracy. It was a delicate dance, a system of give and take. A circular loop. Yn and Yang.
But then came deregulation, automation, and the relentless pursuit of profit over all else. The corporations started winning. And governments? They rolled over and let it happen. Why? Because both systems are run by humans. And humans are nothing if not corruptible. To the core.
The New Church and State: A Historical Parallel.
Remember when church and state were one? Back when questioning religious authority could get you exiled or executed? We fixed that by separating the two, ensuring that faith did not dictate law. Society flourished as a result.
Now, capitalism is the new church. It issues its own commandments, dictates moral standards through its control of media, and rewrites the rules of governance by funding politicians who dance to its tune. If we do not separate capitalism from democracy, then democracy will simply cease to exist.
Three Ways Corporations Have Already Taken Over.
- Financial Control
Governments used to control money. Now, private institutions do. Payment processors, digital banks, and corporate credit systems decide who can and cannot participate in the economy. Your bank account isn’t yours, it’s an access privilege that can be revoked. And with cash disappearing, every transaction you make is at the mercy of a private entity that may decide tomorrow that your money is no longer yours to use. - Narrative Control
Laws take years to pass, but an algorithm tweak can rewrite reality overnight. What you see, hear, and believe is filtered through platforms owned by a handful of corporations. They decide what is acceptable speech, what is “misinformation,” and what vanishes without a trace. If information is power, then we no longer live in democracies. We live under the rule of content moderation overlords. - Elections and Law-Making
Governments are no longer the ones writing policy, lobbyists are. Private money funds elections, ensuring that the only politicians with a shot at power are the ones who have already been bought. Democracy isn’t about winning votes anymore. It’s about securing campaign contributions from the right billionaires.
The Selling Off of Public Goods.
Governments are selling themselves piece by piece. What used to be public services are now private assets. Healthcare, transport, education, policing, even prisons, everything has a price tag.
It’s all very efficient, they say. It’s just business, they say. But here’s the truth: When profit motives replace public service, the public suffers. Your electricity bill isn’t high because of supply costs. It’s high because a CEO needs a bigger bonus. Your train ticket isn’t expensive because of maintenance costs. It’s expensive because shareholders expect higher returns. And don’t even get me started on healthcare, where the price of staying alive is determined by what the market will tolerate.
History Repeats Itself: The Corporate Colonialists.
We’ve been here before. The East India Company, privateers, joint-stock colonial enterprises, every time private wealth has been given unchecked power, it has ended in suffering, exploitation, and collapse.
Empires that let corporations rule in their name? They fell. Countries that let private interests dictate governance? They crumbled. The rich who amassed fortunes through conquest and plunder? Their descendants squandered it within generations.
Because greed, left unchecked, always devours itself.
The Final Wake-Up Call: Welcome Back to the 1700s.
This isn’t some sci-fi dystopia. This is the world we are actively creating. If we do nothing, we are walking straight back to the 18th century, where power belongs to the highest bidder, justice is for sale, and the common people are disposable.
But instead of kings and colonial governors, our new rulers will be tech moguls, hedge fund managers, and private equity firms. Instead of empires, we will have corporate territories. Instead of democracy, we will have “user agreements.”
You will not be a citizen. You will be a subscriber.
Your rights? Determined by Terms & Conditions.
Your vote? Meaningless in a world where elections are pre-purchased.
Your future? Locked behind a paywall.
The Only Way Out.
It doesn’t have to end this way. But if we want to avoid corporate feudalism, we must draw the line. Democracy must regulate capitalism, not the other way around.
This means strict regulations, breaking monopolies, stopping corporate money from flooding elections, and ensuring that public goods stay in public hands.
Capitalism, left to its own devices, does not serve people, it serves profit. Democracy’s job is to tame it, to ensure that markets work for society rather than society being enslaved by the markets.
If we do not wake up now, the next few decades will not be progress. They will be a rollback to the dark days of unbridled capitalism, imperialism, and corporate colonialism. Add to this mix, AI, and you have not only a recipe for disaster, but also the hit at the perfect place by the perfect meteor. Like the one that wiped out dinosaurs and made it possible for humans to start their arduous, but inevitable climb to the top of the food chain. We have managed to stumble, and sometimes fight, our way to progress, through evolution and, when faced with tests such as this, revolutions.
Except this time, there won’t be any revolutions. Just subscription plans.
Choose now: Do we own our future, or do we rent it from our overlords?
P.S.: I had written something similar back in January 2010. If, after going through this verbose and long-winded article of mine, you are still a sucker for punishment, go read it here. What a bloody masochist!
