Do the large lower classes own a bigger share of the pie than peasants did?
Do we have a bigger say in what gets done than medieval serfs?
Do the ruling class have to use more force to keepus down?
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Has Modern Capitalism Lead To More Economic Democracy Than We Had Under Feudalism?
Posted on February 10, 2013.
Do the large lower classes own a bigger share of the pie than the peasants did? It would seem that way, on one level, but technically 1% today owns 99% of the pie. The difference is only 1% from 0 🙂 In the late 14th century there was a sort of rise of a middle class as a result of the plague. So many people died that skilled labor became more prized and workers started making more. There was an effort made to hold back this rise by imposing Sumptuary Laws (laws that dictated how people could dress based on their status – i.e. even if you have money enough to dress like a noble, if you’re a commoner you still have to dress like a commoner). Another thing they did was impose wage labor laws to set them at pre-plague levels which led to a famous rebellion where the plebians burnt down the Savoy Palace owned by John of Gaunt (the 16th riches man in all of history). Serfs didn’t get to keep that much of what they owned and had barely any mobility before the plague. Moreover, something to think about is….
In feudal society, a king owned all the land. The ownership of land was the basis for the feudal system. The king allowed people to basically lease the land in exchange for certain services he required from his vassals. In turn, his vassals portioned off a part of their fief to those subordinate to them in exchange for their services. In the US, we only own land in theory, we lease it just like in feudal society. I say that because we pay property taxes. If we don’t pay the government our property taxes, we don’t keep our property – it reverts to them. If we really owned it, we wouldn’t have to pay someone to keep it. It would be ours on principle. Instead, we only get to keep it if we pay our tax, which is very much like a lease or a fief.
Do we have a bigger say in what gets done than medieval serfs? Yes, we do. Medieval serfs had no choice in who ruled them, since it was hereditary (although we might think about how much our vote today really counts since it can be overruled by the electoral college). In medieval times, you were thought to have been born in a certain class because God ordained it. That is, if you were born a serf, that is because God thought you should be a serf and that’s all you could be. So, it was imagined that knights, for instance, were not capable of plowing fields. Check out Wimbeldon’s Sermon from 1388 where he talks about how if the peasants revolted, then there would be no food too eat because it was impossible for knights and aristocrats to get off their butts and work the fields. However, in medieval society, there was much more of a sense of community, local involvement, and accountability, which we don’t have as much today especially in urban areas. We get a vote but we aren’t always really given very many options or even the certainty that the person we vote for will keep the promises they made – our voice gets losts.
Do the ruling class have to use more force to keep us down? I think this has not changed much. Protesters now are attacked using our version of knights – the police. In medieval times. rebellion would be met with the death punishment – getting burned on the stake which was a badder business – check out the Lollards and the peasants revolt of 1381. Today, some people who have heretical political views are put on secret kill lists for assassination. We have higher rates of incarceration and still use torture against dissidents. Let me tell you, Willliam the Conqueror’s Domesday book has nothing on the IRS database.
Not much has changed, but because of technology been made worse – a more intrusive society now. However, I don’t think that at least in the US we have real capitalism since the markets aren’t free but heavily regulated.
Well we had mercantilism for a much longer period since feudalism than we have had capitalism.
Our constitution was based upon the mercantile economic system and capitalism didn’t become the dominate system until after the Civil War and the creation of the Federal Reserve System, a central economic system, and the income tax in 1913, 100 years ago. Then in the 1930s we added socialism in the mix to achieve the economic system we have today.
Peasants didn’t own anything. They worked land that belonged to someone else, and were only allowed to keep part of what they grew.
They were also forced to work for the nobility without pay, and be part of any military maneuvers the land owners undertook.
The only resemblance between the feudal system and us is that we both have to pay taxes.
Oh please shut up. Serfs and peasants had no say at all in government. The poor back then only lived for like 40 years and had to farm forever. God people think its so terrible now. The middle class in the 60’s did not have the same things as the lower class today.
Capitalism is the answer; at least it’s the closest we have to how humanity needs to be governed. The more Capitalist the government is-or more importantly, how Capitalist the people are-the better. You should read some of Ayn Rand’s work. Good stuff.
Hell yes. Capitalism is least imperfect system released to date…
social mobility and freedoms allows society to progress in technology and wealth. Capitalism is not a guarantee of social mobility
Capitalism is almost certainly a step up from feudalism. The next step would be socialism, then.
“…own a bigger share of the pie than peasants did?”
There is no PIE! Wealth is generated from thin air, so the billions one has was NOT gained by taking it from someone else!
lol, no it hasn’t and its not designed to.Capitalism demands above all things that there be winners and losers.
What in the flying h@ll is “economic democracy”…?
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
I guess you could compare the self-made millionaires/billionaires between the two systems.
Yes…