Information Feudalism and the Oath You Swore to Your Printer

Welcome to the 9th century. The lord owns the land. The vassals are given permission to farm the land in exchange for fealty, money, products, and services. The oath of fealty binds the vassal to the lord. Feudalism evokes images of castles overlooking European heaths. Small huts dot the landscape, and knights ride on horseback over the surrounding countryside.

But the days of feudalism are returning. The tech culture of the 21st century has given birth to a new kind of feudalism: informatio...