Digital Feudalism

Digital Feudalism is a theoretical framework for analyzing legal frameworks and power relationships in a networked ecosystem. Originally developed by Sascha Meinrath, James Losey and Victor Pickard the term builds on Habermassian theory while connecting histories of Enclosure and Feudalism. Combining legal analysis and social theory, Digital Feudalism is encapsulated in the seminal work by Meinrath, James Losey, and Victor Pickard. Meinrath et al. analyze various mechanisms through which private actors undermine the democratic and participatory platform of the internet. These processes include enclosure, where private actors overtake previously common territory, and Hamermasian re-feudalization wherein commercial interests dominate the public sphere.