Bill,
And only a few weeks ago people were arguing that TML was
moribund! Excellent post!
A few nits to pick, though. Many of the examples you give of
feaudalism, such as corporate feudalism, are already present in the
government type structure, such as the corporate state. I think the
critical difference is the lack of or highly limited societal mobility. A
common thread throughout all your examples is the codification of
position as hereditary...I think that this could serve as the sole
definition of a feudal state, and the basis of that segregation, military,
contract, medical or whatever is less important.
Indeed many of your examples are not precisely feudal in
nature, but more like technocracies, ie: the technical or scientific elite
holding power.
A feudal society was as marked by the responsibilities of the
higher classes to the lower as by their rights...all power derived from
the bottom, in reality...just look at the restoration of the Meijii
emperor over the Shogunate in 19th century Japan. That change was
spearheaded by some rather small, rural provinces.
Since, whether GDW based the Sword Worlds entire or only part
on Piper's book, I re-read Space Viking the other day. In it the
protagonist (Prince Trask) expresses surprise that an outsider
declared his (very classic land and production based) feudal society as
a tyranny. Trask than explains that no one has any power that is not
explicitly granted by the people below, and all that has to be done to
eliminate a tyranny is withhold the support necessary. In fact, this is
very much like European 'classical' feudalism...The king theoretically
wielded great power, but only as long as he held the support of the
lesser nobles, who only wielded their power with the support of those
below, etc. because the true power...armies, were not standing, but
composed of all those lower knights and barons, who quite freely
looked out for their own hides. The pledged fealty to the king, but that
oath was binding both ways...the king had to act to their benefit, or he
had no power.
This is really only possible in lower populations, where the
lowest tiers of the society still wields enough political power to
make a difference. This argues forcefully against large population
feudal states. The Japanese example I had mentioned before was not
the best. By the time of the Meijii restoration, the Shogunate had
evolved from a true military-based feudal state to a giant
bureauocracy, hereditarily determined, to be sure, but still a
bureauocracy.
Bruce Johnson
The University of Arizona
[email removed] (work :-(
[email removed] (play :-)
My opinions, All Mine!