PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION PAPER
On Cloud Computing and the Process of Digital De-Ownership
A Praxeological Critique of Software as a Service: How Cloud Computing Undermines Digital Sovereignty and Economic Efficiency Through the Erosion of Property Rights
“To be able to choose between proprietary software packages is to be able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a master. And in the area of computing, freedom means not using proprietary software.”
-Richard M. Stallman
Let me begin by addressing what lies at the heart of modern software distribution: the question of digital sovereignty versus digital serfdom. The Software as a Service (SaaS) model represents not merely a business innovation, but a fundamental restructuring of the relationship between users and their tools — one that transforms owners into renters, autonomous agents into dependents. This transformation strikes at the very core of individual sovereignty and economic efficiency, representing a regression in both technological freedom and resource allocation.
