All of humanity produces data on the web, that is, potential value. Yet the declining empire, the United States, guarantees freedom, even if only the freedom to starve, but does not redistribute value, which remains in the hands of very few. The rising empire, China, redistributes it, but, being a successful Bolshevik state, limits freedom. To remedy American decline, President Trump wants to control the platforms, achieving the masterpiece of a tyranny without redistribution. Is there a fourth way? Certainly: digital communism. The times are ripe; let us not wait for them to rot.

Maurizio Ferraris is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Turin, President of LabOnt (Center for Ontology), and of the “Scienza Nuova” Institute. His books include Goodbye, Kant!, Where Are You? An Ontology of the Cell Phone, Documentality: Why It Is Necessary to Leave Traces, and Doc-Humanity. He is the recipient of the “Miladin Životić” Award (2022).