Neo-feudalism

U.S. democracy exists in a highly precarious state. The reasons for this are complex, but necessary to understand, because America is heading toward a state of neo-feudalism.

First, there is the massive and increasing inequality in capacity for meaningful violence. What good are long arms against directed energy weapons, weather control, and nuclear bombs? Capacity for force is increasingly centralized by the federal government.

Money, too, is increasingly centralized. The income tax and the Federal Reserve ensure that wealth is gathered in fewer and fewer hands. The well-connected rent seeker, rather than the true financial pioneer, often reaps the lion’s share of rewards.

The Economic Effects of a Shrinking Middle Class

A consequence of increased financial centralization is a shrinking middle class, the historic backbone of the American republic. A smaller middle class means less home ownership, less family formation, and fewer small businesses, all of which decrease social participation and skin in the game. This accelerated under COVID-19 lockdowns.

Home ownership is decreasing rapidly, while debt is increasing dramatically. The average American is over $90,000 in debt when including debts such as mortgages and student debt.

The average student debt bears closer examination: A Bachelor’s degree will put the average American over $28,000 in debt. While a graduate degree, increasingly required for access to professional class employment, is going to bury you in $71,000 in debt. This does not include Parent PLUS loans, which will set the parents back over $16,000.

A Neo-feudal Society

The government prints money for the military, the big banks, and higher ed while the middle class struggles to exist. And it’s all protected with godlike weaponry dwarfing the capacity for violence of the middle class.

This phenomenon is called neo-feudalism, an elegant term to describe the state of the American polity where few own little, even fewer own much, and the military is increasingly difficult to resist in any meaningful way.