I sincerely hope mankind will go back to the feudal system, and not because I love Game of Thrones.
When you think about it, the feudal system would not be too diverse from life as we know it now. In the feudal system, just a small percentage of the population is educated, and that is not too different from the current situation in several countries. In the feudal system, is almost impossible to change one’s social and financial status, and that is just slightly less likely than going from a slum to a powerful office in a national government. In the feudal system, the masses are taught what to think from the above, and are we not? Do us westerners, privileged people not share general ideas about pretty much everything, nonetheless some small distinction that we make up to maintain our hypocritical standards of individuality up?
Moreover, a feudal organisation of the society would help reduce pollution and stimulate a closer relationship between humans and the planet. The majority of people would look after their lands and establish farms, providing the nourishment for their own family and the local lords. This could mean less intensive cultivations substituted by seasonal fruits and vegetables growing accordingly with their natural rhythms and not the needs of the global market. We would move less from one place to another, and there would be a limited need for cars and airplanes. The young would not be studying on books and learning those soft skills so required now from recruiters worldwide. They would either learn their parents’ job by working with them since an early age or be sent to apprehend another from a neighbour. Some might learn to read or write, but that would not be necessary to find employment.
Not everyone would be living like this. The world should be governed by a limited elite of highly educated people, who can take decisions for everyone and without having to wait for the consent of a parliament or appease the population of their country. They would live completely separated from the rest of the population, and inequalities would increase tremendously. However, no one would notice. The so-called “poor” would not be able to know what they are missing out by not sharing in the perks of power, and the elites would not know how the actual world is like outside their shining cities of glass with barely no green.
Of course, I assume I would be part of this elite, and why should not any human being? The answer is plain: not everyone has the same ambitions and goals in life, and many would be content with a simple life. That is where the idea of going back to the feudal system comes from, annoyance towards a society that forces individuals to aspire to more than what they can get. We are not all born the same and we are not all equal to each other. Moreover, we do not deserve the same. In the feudal society, everyone would stay in their righteous place, respecting who is above them and not questioning their authority, and would that not be better? It would give people more certainties and guarantee personal safety for everyone.
In short, shifting to a feudal society would be the way a cleaner, safer and more structured world, and the only thing that could prevent us from achieving it is our hypocrisy.
