tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post15960498792056912..comments2023-12-28T22:22:42.307-08:00Comments on Nobody In Particular: Gunshot, Poison or Hanging?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03128359303310478673noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-71883310241807641972009-07-07T07:42:57.649-07:002009-07-07T07:42:57.649-07:00I probably shouldn't have used the term "...I probably shouldn't have used the term "feudalism," either. "Serfdom," is likely a more accurate term for what I wanted to convey.<br /><br />But you're on to something with the idea that creating a situation where starvation is the other option is a good way to get people to do things that otherwise suck out loud. I think my next post will look at that more closely, and how it ties into the global economy as we've currently got it.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03128359303310478673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-46677140360295414332009-07-06T12:46:04.557-07:002009-07-06T12:46:04.557-07:00I was thinking of feudalism as sort of an end-stat...I was thinking of feudalism as sort of an end-state of attempts at government that seems pretty stable. In an imprecise sense, maybe things do often tend to devolve to that notorious level of wealth inequality, where the many end up (inefficiently ) doing all the production, and the few end up doing the high-end consumption. But on second thought, (1) I don't think I ought to call that feudalism (you're right), and (2) I'm not sure I should tie it to stagnation of innovation. (In fact, the opposite--a long-term response to major innovation--might be more accurate, but I'm not liking these poorly-thought-out generalizations of mine at all just now.)Keifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-32494668647031469902009-07-05T11:19:37.285-07:002009-07-05T11:19:37.285-07:00But you could make the point that for most people,...But you could make the point that for most people, feudalism was a step up, at first - I grow food for you, you use that big sword to protect me from barbarians. Each side had obligations to the other. Feudalism acquires a bad name once people higher up on the food chain start to use their monopoly on violence to make the obligations one way, and justified it through divine right - Lords demanded a lot of the peasantry, but would still leave them to fend for themselves if an attack came. The children's book idea that lords would let the local peasants into the castle if the countryside came under attack was a rarely seen ideal. I doubt that early medieval people would have readily entered into the late medieval form of serfdom by choice.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03128359303310478673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-49873119780483996592009-07-05T08:13:05.559-07:002009-07-05T08:13:05.559-07:00Well, how did they sell the old feudalism? Some c...Well, how did they sell the old feudalism? Some combination of patriotism, religion, and a healthy injection of naturalist theories of class is my best guess. <br /><br />Either that, or create conditions where horrible labor practices are still a better alternative than starving. <br /><br />(And yes, it's interesting that economies seem to stagnate when only a few really participate in them, but it's in our nature to take advantage when we can. That said, I think that in the the last century, the growth came first, and then working conditions improved slowly, and with violence.)Keifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.com