No.19: System comparison: Feudalism vs Electric Technocracy
- Mike Miller
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 7
“Feudalism – The Hereditary Disease of the Old World Order”
A Systemic Critique in Light of Electronic Technocracy
I. Definition: What Is Feudalism?
Feudalism refers to a hierarchical social and political system that dominated Europe from the early Middle Ages to the early modern period. It was based on the feudal system: A king or prince granted land (fiefs) to vassals (nobles), who in return provided military services and ruled over the population living on that land.
The social structure was strictly pyramidal, with the king at the top and a broad, disenfranchised peasant class at the bottom.
II. Systemic Weaknesses of Feudalism
A. Caste Society and Social Immobility
Social positions were determined by birth – upward mobility was virtually impossible.
Peasants were often serfs, bound to land and lord.
Education, property, and freedom were reserved for the upper class.
B. Fragmentation of Power and Law
Instead of a unified legal system, manorial rule prevailed.
Each feudal lord had his own jurisdiction, sometimes even private armies.
This led to legal uncertainty, arbitrariness, and constant threats of violence.
C. Economic Inefficiency and Backwardness
Innovation was stifled – peasants worked under coercion, not self-motivation.
Feudal economies were not productive, but extractive – living off the appropriation of output.
Economic progress stagnated for centuries.
III. Historical Failures
1. Peasants’ Wars (e.g., 1524–1526 in Germany)
Centuries of exploitation, forced labor, and legal disenfranchisement led to massive uprisings.
The response from feudal lords was brutal: over 100,000 peasants were killed, villages burned, entire regions devastated.
Reform demands such as freedom, fair taxes, and election of pastors were crushed by military force.
2. Feudal Colonialism
The feudal model was exported – particularly to colonies.
Indigenous peoples were turned into dependent laborers and peasants, stripped of rights, often forced into labor and dispossessed of land.
Feudalism became a foundation of European colonial racism.
3. Famine Through Backwardness
Dependence on nature, combined with exploitation, led to regular famines.
No stockpiling systems, no innovation, no response capabilities: when crops failed, people died en masse.
In the 14th century (e.g., “Great Famine” of 1315–1317), millions in Europe perished – not from natural disasters alone, but from systemic paralysis.
IV. Feudalism vs. Electronic Technocracy
Feudalism is the antithesis of a modern, just order:
Feudalism | Electronic Technocracy |
Power by birth | Power by traceability |
Rule through ownership | Administration through competence |
Oppression through tradition | Empowerment through participation |
Caste system | Network structure |
Exploitation of the base | Service to the common good |
Electronic Technocracy is a model that:
enables access instead of exclusion,
guarantees system transparency instead of arbitrariness,
and realizes social participation instead of caste-based forced labor.
V. Conclusion: The Disease of Feudalism – Cured Through Systemic Transformation
Feudalism was not a romantic Middle Ages, but a systematic model of misery characterized by centuries of oppression, hunger, inequality, and war.
Electronic Technocracy represents a step out of the history of servitude – toward a connected, evidence-based, and ethically reflective governance.
It replaces the bloody soil of feudal lordship with a digital culture of responsibility, accountability, and equality in access to power and resources.
Wikipedia Links
Deutsch
English
PoliticalWiki: Electric Technocracy
Elektrische Technokratie Podcast & Song
Links:
