Wealth breeds wealth. Power births more power. If you're not bothered by those statements, this book will bother you. Because it exposes how these dangerous cycles are hardening into a new, modern incarnation of feudalism right before our eyes across the Western world and rising superpowers.Confused? Basically, we're heading towards a world with a huge gap between the ultra-wealthy elite at the top and everyone else. A world where it's really hard to move up the social ladder or achieve...
Understanding Feudalism 2.0
In movies, European feudalism is shown through fat nobles with whips and all, lording over obedient serfs. We like to think that nightmare ended when democracy and capitalism unchained the masses from such rigid class systems. But this feudalism is making a 21st century comeback. No, we won't be seeing knights on horseback. Neo-feudalism comes wrapped in a glossy veneer of high-tech and progressive buzzwords. Sustainability! Equality! Liberalism!! But strip away that shiny exterior, and you'll find the same rotten...
The Modern-day Oligarchs
In Game of Thrones, we have the Lannisters and the Starks who pretty much run the show, right? Well, in our real world, we've got our own modern-day equivalents – the tech oligarchs! These are the kings and queens of the digital realm.Y’know, hotshots like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft, them. These aren't some tech geeks tinkering away in their garages, although some of them did start that way. Nope, they’re THE ultra-wealthy elite who have a filthy amount...
All About The Clerisy
So who even are these "clerisy" folks? Basically, they're the brain workforce that keeps society ticking - the teachers, lawyers, consultants, government officials, and other professions that deal more with ideas and administration than physical labor. Historically, they've played an important role in providing services and shaping culture. But these days, their influence is going into overdrive.Now, here's where it gets dirty - the clerisy aren't just doing their jobs anymore. Nope, they've appointed themselves the moral and intellectual gatekeepers...
The Yeomanry and The New Serfs
Alright then, let's talk about what's really going on with the middle class and working folk these days.It seems like yeomanry - your average independent small landowning family - used to mean a decent life and some chances for a better tomorrow. But now? Those dreams of upward mobility and building real wealth are fading. No matter how hard you hustle, you just can't get ahead!The statistics are grim. Once upon a time, around 90% of kids went on to...
What Now?
So! The thing is our cities aren't doing right by regular folks these days. Kotkin paints a bleak picture of neighborhoods divided between fancy living downtown and crumbling ruins just blocks away. Doesn't look like urban life is much of an "engine of upward mobility" anymore. With good jobs gone and housing costs through the roof, who can really get ahead in fancy places these days besides the rich? And it's not just cities - opportunities shrinking in small towns...
Chapter 8
Details coming soon.
Summary
In the end, as R.H. Tawney wrote, "Happy the nation whose people have not forgotten how to rebel." Whether modern society can muster the resolve to reassert itself as engaged citizens upholding core democratic values and ideals will determine what kind of world, feudal or free, our children inherit. The choice is ours.
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About the Author
Described by the New York Times as “America’s uber-geographer,” Joel Kotkin is an internationally-recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. His latest book is The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class.
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