ERA OF PARASITES
We usually imagine parasites as invisible creatures inhabiting the bodies of living beings. Yet I am convinced that parasitic formations also exist — and evolve — within the tissue of modern society, often to unimaginable proportions. This raises a crucial question: are parasites truly only a biological phenomenon, or are they also embedded in the structures of contemporary society?
Recent findings from a research group at the University of Leeds, who uncovered how a tiny single‑celled parasite like Toxoplasma gondii can manipulate the behavior of its host, together with the insights of philosopher and computer‑science pioneer Jaron Lanier, reveal that the owners of social‑media platforms use strategies strikingly similar to those of this protozoan parasite.
Toxoplasma gondii can reproduce only in the intestines of cats. To get there, it must first infect an intermediate host — often a mouse or rat. Once the mouse ingests the parasite’s cysts, Toxoplasma spreads through its body and settles in the brain, forming tiny cysts.
This is the most fascinating part. Toxoplasma does not destroy the brain — it rewires it. It affects the amygdala (the fear center), reward systems, and olfactory responses. Instead of feeling fear when smelling cat urine, the mouse becomes attracted to it. This is not a metaphor — it is a measured neurobiological effect. The parasite achieves this by reducing fear‑center activity, increasing dopamine signaling, and altering connections between the amygdala and the olfactory system. The result is astonishing: the mouse loses its innate fear of cats, approaches them, and even experiences a form of sexual arousal.
Because the parasite can reproduce only in cats, this behavioral shift is essential. A fearless mouse is far more likely to be caught and eaten. Thus the parasite reaches its goal: it returns to the cat’s intestine, where it can complete its life cycle.
Other examples are equally striking: the fungus Ophiocordyceps takes control of ants and turns them into “zombies.” The parasite Dicrocoelium dendriticum forces an ant to climb a blade of grass so that a cow will eat it.
From these examples, we may conclude that financial capitalism, as it exists today in the United States and the Western world, is in its essence a parasitic entity — one that uses the tactics and strategies of biological parasites and, through investment and technological tools of behavioral manipulation, is rapidly transforming the world into an ideal host.
Humans often believe we have risen far above other organisms and achieved an exceptional level of development. Yet if we consider that only about 1% of our genes differ from those of the fruit fly Drosophila, we may rightfully conclude that we behave in ways strikingly similar to all other living beings. We, too, practice reciprocal altruism, we cheat, and we parasitize.
Throughout the history of political thought, the metaphor of the parasite appears again and again, as if thinkers intuitively sensed that parasitism is one of the fundamental forces shaping social life. Marx described capital as “dead labor that attaches itself to living labor and drains it,” an organism without vitality that survives only by feeding on the energy of others. Lenin spoke of “parasitic capitalism,” expanding at the expense of society like a tumor growing from the body while simultaneously weakening it.
PARASITIC POCKETS OF IMPERIALISM ARE GROWING TODAY
Even Lenin dealt with parasites. In Chapter X: Parasitic or Decaying Capitalism, on pages 112–118, Lenin explains that imperialism is no longer a young capitalism expanding production, but a capitalism that lives off colonial profits and financial speculation. He describes it as parasitic: capital accumulates in the metropoles, but not in the form of productive investments — rather as rents, interest, and dividends from the colonies. He emphasizes that this leads to stagnation for most of the population in developed countries, as wealth becomes concentrated in narrow layers. He uses the formulation that imperialism creates “parasitic pockets” — areas and strata that live off the exploitation of foreign lands, not their own labor. This is a sign that capitalism is entering its decaying phase, where internal contradictions deepen further. Funny how it feels as if this text could have been written today.
Even Lenin dealt with parasites. In Chapter X: Parasitic or Decaying Capitalism, on pages 112–118, Lenin explains that imperialism is no longer a young capitalism expanding production, but a capitalism that lives off colonial profits and financial speculation. He describes it as parasitic: capital accumulates in the metropoles, but not in the form of productive investments — rather as rents, interest, and dividends from the colonies. He emphasizes that this leads to stagnation for most of the population in developed countries, as wealth becomes concentrated in narrow layers. He uses the formulation that imperialism creates “parasitic pockets” — areas and strata that live off the exploitation of foreign lands, not their own labor. This is a sign that capitalism is entering its decaying phase, where internal contradictions deepen further. Funny how it feels as if this text could have been written today.
Interest in parasites is once again rising in culture and science. In 1995, Japanese writer Hideaki Sena published the science‑fiction novella Parasite Eve, which inspired films, video games, and manga. Bong Joon‑ho’s film Parasite became a global metaphor for social predation. American economist Michael Hudson warns of economic parasitism, in which financial elites drain the real economy without giving anything back. And Jaron Lanier has shown that parasitism is no longer merely an economic or political metaphor but is becoming a technological reality. Digital platforms, he argues, do not merely observe people — they reshape them. Algorithms latch onto human attention, redirect it, reshape it, and feed themselves. 10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LEAVE SOCIAL MEDIA Just as biological parasites alter the behavior of their hosts, digital systems alter the behavior of their users — quietly, invisibly, relentlessly. And perhaps this is the most unsettling truth: the parasites revolutionary thinkers once described have today found their most refined, algorithmic form.
The study of parasites and their ability to alter the behavior of hosts and intermediate hosts opens an entirely new field in neuroscience. The strange, dark, eerie, and at the same time fascinating world of parasites may influence us far more than we imagine, explains neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky. Parasites enter our bodies and exploit them. Their astonishing behavior is directed toward completing their life cycle, increasing their offspring, evading the host’s immune system, and ensuring transmission to new hosts. To achieve this, they have developed a wide array of highly effective behavioral strategies and are therefore among the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. Due to their deceptive strategies and insufficient research, we often fail to recognize them and do not fully understand how they affect us.
We usually imagine parasites as invisible creatures inhabiting the bodies of living beings. Yet I am convinced that parasitic formations also exist — and evolve — within the tissue of modern society, often to unimaginable proportions. This raises a crucial question: are parasites truly only a biological phenomenon, or are they also embedded in the structures of contemporary society?
Recent findings from a research group at the University of Leeds, who uncovered how a tiny single‑celled parasite like Toxoplasma gondii can manipulate the behavior of its host, together with the insights of philosopher and computer‑science pioneer Jaron Lanier, reveal that the owners of social‑media platforms use strategies strikingly similar to those of this protozoan parasite.
Toxoplasma gondii can reproduce only in the intestines of cats. To get there, it must first infect an intermediate host — often a mouse or rat. Once the mouse ingests the parasite’s cysts, Toxoplasma spreads through its body and settles in the brain, forming tiny cysts.
This is the most fascinating part. Toxoplasma does not destroy the brain — it rewires it. It affects the amygdala (the fear center), reward systems, and olfactory responses. Instead of feeling fear when smelling cat urine, the mouse becomes attracted to it. This is not a metaphor — it is a measured neurobiological effect. The parasite achieves this by reducing fear‑center activity, increasing dopamine signaling, and altering connections between the amygdala and the olfactory system. The result is astonishing: the mouse loses its innate fear of cats, approaches them, and even experiences a form of sexual arousal.
Because the parasite can reproduce only in cats, this behavioral shift is essential. A fearless mouse is far more likely to be caught and eaten. Thus the parasite reaches its goal: it returns to the cat’s intestine, where it can complete its life cycle.
Other examples are equally striking: the fungus Ophiocordyceps takes control of ants and turns them into “zombies.” The parasite Dicrocoelium dendriticum forces an ant to climb a blade of grass so that a cow will eat it.
These are not merely biological curiosities — they are metaphors that help us understand what is happening in modern societies.
Consider a few examples of social parasitism:
Financial capitalism as an endoparasite of society.
Endoparasites live inside the host’s body and draw nutrients from it. Parts of the modern financial system operate in much the same way. Economist Michael Hudson warns that financial elites generate wealth without creating real value; rent-seeking replaces productivity, debt becomes a tool of extraction, and tax havens function as hiding places for parasites.The parasitic FIRE sector consists of finance, insurance, and real estate. Its host is the economy. The banking sector is essentially parasitic because it produces no value of its own, yet raises the cost of buying a house or apartment. It siphons money from people’s incomes and from public budgets. Citizens must pay banks ever‑increasing amounts simply to service interest payments. The host — the real economy — loses vitality while the parasite grows.
Digital parasitism: algorithms as neuroparasites.
If a single‑celled organism can alter the behavior of a mouse, why wouldn’t technological platforms be capable of similar manipulation? Social‑media algorithms exploit dopamine responses, encourage compulsive use, reshape behavioral patterns, polarize society, and monetize attention. The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed that digital systems can influence political processes. Just as Toxoplasma rewires the mouse brain, algorithms reshape our habits, choices, and beliefs.
Extractive industries as ektoparasites
of the planet. Ectoparasites live on the surface of the host and drain its resources. Oil, mining, and logging industries operate similarly: they deplete natural resources, destroy ecosystems, leave degraded landscapes, and shift the costs onto local communities. The planet as host is losing its ability to regenerate.
Conclusion
Understanding parasites reveals that the boundary between biological and social systems is far thinner than we like to believe. In nature, parasites thrive through manipulation, concealment, and the extraction of the host’s resources — and these same traits can be recognized in the functioning of modern social structures. Financial capitalism, digital platforms, and technological giants have developed sophisticated mechanisms for influencing human behavior that mirror the strategies of biological parasites.
If a single‑celled organism like Toxoplasma gondii can alter the behavior of its host, why would we doubt that complex systems with vastly greater power, data, and technological tools can do the same? In both cases, the logic is identical: to survive and grow, the parasite must shape the host to serve its interests.
It is therefore essential that we learn to recognize parasitic patterns hidden in economic models, digital environments, and political structures. Only by understanding how they operate can we develop defenses — just as an organism defends itself against biological parasites.
If a single‑celled organism like Toxoplasma gondii can alter the behavior of its host, why would we doubt that complex systems with vastly greater power, data, and technological tools can do the same? In both cases, the logic is identical: to survive and grow, the parasite must shape the host to serve its interests.
It is therefore essential that we learn to recognize parasitic patterns hidden in economic models, digital environments, and political structures. Only by understanding how they operate can we develop defenses — just as an organism defends itself against biological parasites.
Parasites will always exist; the question is whether we remain passive hosts or develop the ability to identify and limit those who drain our time, our environment, our energy, our attention, and our future.
Alenka Sottler
6. 2. 2026
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