So what would my version of a ‘new’ Feudalism look like?

One of the ‘benefits’ of Feudalism was the mutual rights and responsibilities of each social strata and of the commitment to a ‘higher power’ an ‘ultimate power’-God. This belief in and commitment to the authority of the ‘Ultimate Power’ animated Feudalism. Alas there was, as in every human organised system a tendency towards corruption and entropy. some critics of Feudalism claim that as it is founded on heredity there is no real place for it in modern society where Democracy rules. (or so they claim, poor misguided fools!)

There have been a number of instances in history in which a king or leader/Chief was chosen by public acclamation and who had a role to play in Society, if he failed to fulfil that role he forfeited his position and role (sometimes his life).

The Pharoahs in Egypt were able to keep their job as long as they managed through prayer and sacrifice to ensure that the Nile flooded each year and irrigated the land. In pre-Colombian America some Mayan kings could ‘enjoy’ the high life and the adoration of the people of their community as long as they exerted control over some of the features of the geological activity in the area. No control, no kingship. No kingship, no life. The list goes on of ‘elected’ kings. The role of the Leader was to appease the gods to avert calamity or to bring about a wanted/needed event.

The people were all serving or at least aware of the force and strength of Higher/Ultimate Power; the gods.

In my ‘new feudalism’ the Ultimate Power would be ‘The Law’ and all people would live obeying the law. There could be an elected Parliament but it would be bound by the Law, an electoral system that allowed every electors views to be reflected, a parliament that aspired to cater for the needs and cares of all it’s citizens not just a select few. The Government of the day could only enact Laws that had been scrutinised and passed by the House of Commons, no ruling by diktat or committee. The Law would stipulate for how long a Parliament could sit; no snap or surprise elections called by the Government. Constituency boundaries could be altered only by the Electoral Commission and not the politicians.

Citizens would be ‘encouraged’ to take an active role in the fabric of the nation, a nation that plays an active role in the fabric of their lives.

There is a social democracy at work in this Feudalism, not necessarily communism but communialism akin to the aims of the Labour Government of 1945 where all people have their basic needs met by a welfare state and strive to serve the needs of the nation and their neighbours.

Such an idea was not dreamed up by the Socialists in 1945 but actually it’s roots are in Plato’s Republic some few years earlier.

I am not trying to write a manifesto here just to bring up an alternative to the divisive politics of nowadays and the social corrosiveness of the ‘Me Ideology that pollutes our nation/world.

Could such a system work? No not for too long before it degenerates into entropy, but that entropization is brought about by neglect and stagnation in the system but that doesn’t mean that we should not aspire to bring about a fair and equitable society nor work towards it’s inception. The watchword for a functioning democracy is ‘vigilance’.

THINK ABOUT IT