Received:
2025-06-11 | Accepted:
2025-10-10 | Published:
2025-12-30
Title
The digital transformation and the inclusive economy: navigating the risks
Abstract
The article examines the paradoxical relationship between the development of an inclusive economy and the emergence of digital neo-feudalism. While central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and asset tokenisation are presented as instruments for enhancing financial inclusion, reducing transaction costs, and supporting social stability, they simultaneously create unprecedented opportunities for state and corporate control over economic activities and personal data. The research highlights the dual nature of digital financial innovations: on the one hand, they democratise access to financial services and stimulate the development of small and medium-sized businesses; on the other hand, they concentrate power in the hands of central banks and digital platforms, fostering new forms of dependence. The study employs theoretical and comparative analysis to show how the combination of state regulation, Big Data, and technological monopolies can reproduce hierarchical structures reminiscent of neo-feudalism in a digitalised society. The findings suggest that the path toward an inclusive economy requires critical attention to ethical and institutional safeguards to avoid the risks of digital authoritarianism and the privatisation of social control.
Keywords
inclusive economy, central bank digital currencies (CBDC), asset tokenization, financial inclusion, digital platforms, Big Data, digital authoritarianism, digital neo-feudalism
JEL classifications
L26
, J24
, M13
, I21
URI
http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1375
DOI
Pages
299-312
Funding
The given research was funded by Daugavpils University, Latvia.
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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