The Coming of Neo-Feudalism

A Warning to the Global Middle Class

By: Joel Kotkin

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Following a remarkable epoch of greater dispersion of wealth and opportunity, we are inexorably returning towards a more feudal era marked by greater concentration of wealth and property, reduced upward mobility, demographic stagnation, and increased dogmatism. If the last 70 years saw a massive expansion of the middle class, not only in America but in much of the developed world, today that class is declining and a new, more hierarchical society is emerging.

The new class structure resembles that of Medieval times. At the apex of the new order are two classes - a reborn clerical elite, the clerisy, which dominates the upper part of the professional ranks, universities, media, and culture, and a new aristocracy led by tech oligarchs with unprecedented wealth and growing control of information. These two classes correspond to the old French First and Second Estates.

Below these two classes lies what was once called the Third Estate. This includes the yeomanry, which is made up largely of small businesspeople, minor property owners, skilled workers, and private-sector oriented professionals. Ascendant for much of modern history, this class is in decline while those below them, the new Serfs, grow in numbers - a vast, expanding property-less population.

The trends are mounting, but we can still reverse them - if people understand what is actually occurring and have the capability to oppose them.

©2020 by Joel Kotkin (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing

Thought provoking & well narrated

This was a worthwhile book. The author’s premises are properly referenced and supported, so as not to read as an overly biased view and not get too political (although most of the “blame” for our current condition is directed towards the extreme Left). The focal point of the book is income / wealth inequality, and the shrinking of the middle class. What happens if these disturbing trends continue to worsen?
- BRJ 12/7/2022

Politically unbiased and timely

This book is a rare find. It is a very good analysis of our contemporary society and economics without being either left or right. One of the most important books I have read the past years

Good stuff to know (if you don't already)

It was good to hear that I am not the only person who has observed these trends.
It is unfortunate that the author appears to cherish the modern right and poo poos the left. While most of his writing is well said, he appears to favor the current masters and wrote this in their defense.
perhaps this book would have been complete with critical analysis of the current Plutocrats and some suggestions of how to reform the institutions that allow such hierarchical dominance.

Coming? Already here dude

Great summary of global coordinated effort to make America and Europe third world economies. They don’t even try to hide it anymore, completely out in the open if you are paying attention and actually read a few books a year. The elite and global leaders are making only stupid decisions that greatly harm society. You can’t flip a coin 20 times in a row and get only heads on accident. In reality, it is the planned take down of Western society and democracy. It has greatly accelerated since the book was published, but it has been planned far in advance.

Educational

The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens. Good information in how the world works.

Analysis or political manifest?

Author describes the actual concentration of wealth and how the actual aristocrats want to remain in power. He ignores the fact that technical innovation always brought inequality. Train displaced couches, and chariots, leaving a lot of freelancers unemployed,vehicle making rich people with money to invest and land owners. The difference now is that new technologies are frictionless, Vanderbilt monopolize railroads in US but he couldn't monopolize in UK, while an app can monopolize users all over the world. Another thing that I didn't like, is mixing the green energies in the political discussion, he says that investing in wind or solar can produce problems while investing in nuclear and hidro is safer. Because we know what are the problems are? Nuclear accidents and damage on river ecosystems? He doesn't brings arguments for his energy opinion, and he is biased. Also he is contradictory regarding population, he complains that US lost jobs in manufacturing but he complains of decrease in population, and implicitly in workforce in the future. He upheld the idea that the backbone of the democracy is the propriety owning middle class, which I agree

sneaks up on you.

about halfway through, I realized he was shaming liberals for not playing fair with conservatives.
nothing about the inverse.
curious.

Perfect

This is quite literally the best book I’ve ever read, I called my dad as soon as I finished it to tell him to read it

Grim Truth

Well explains how we are all being reduced to being serfs. Even physicians often find themselves employees by venture capital firms that have bought up once physician owned practices. The once pro und and independent middle class now all work a masters field. The masters all have an HR department and DEI officer that regulates their public speech and even private opinions

A broad survey of trends, however…

Kotkin ties together a lot of important trends but is too eager to explain them in simplistic terms. He has a thesis to support, so he feels pressure to give concrete explanations. The reality is that these trends have complex, nuanced and contradictory explanations. I appreciate him identifying the trends but withhold judgement on causality, etc.