Cloud capital’s physicality and commanding power do not distinguish it from earlier capital forms

Evidence

But is any of this really new? Is cloud capital radically different from other kinds of capital, such as hammers, steam engines or the television networks that Don Draper deployed to manipulate our matrix of desires? It is certainly no less physical than these other kinds of capital, for the cloud metaphor is just that: a metaphor. In reality, it is comprised of vast data warehouses, containing endless rows of servers, connected by a globe-spanning web of sensors and cables. Might cloud capital stand out because of its power to command? That can’t be it either. The story of Mr Peel’s misfortunes in Western Australia established that, since capitalism’s early days, all capital goods have commanding power – some a little more, others a little less. — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 316

Categorization

• QUESTION: Sets up the puzzle of what actually makes cloud capital distinct — the answer presumably comes in following paragraphs.
• XREF: connects to: Cloud capital is capital’s mutation into feudal wealth extraction, not capital’s death — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 906; Cloud capital has displaced markets and profit from the center of the economy — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 15; A new form of capital called cloud capital has emerged with unprecedented commanding power.

Broader Connections

• A new form of capital called cloud capital has emerged with unprecedented commanding power. #contradicts (0.85)
• Cloud capital is capital’s mutation into feudal wealth extraction, not capital’s death #qualifies (0.80) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 906
• Cloud capital has displaced markets and profit from the center of the economy #contradicts (0.75) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 15