The coming of neo-feudalism : a warning to the global middle class / Joel Kotkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kotkin, Joel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social classes--History--21st century.

Social classes.

Distribution (Economic theory)--History--21st century.

Distribution (Economic theory).

Social history--21st century.

Social history.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 274 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Encounter Books, 2020.

Summary:

"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 seventy 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I HOW FEUDALISM CAME BACK

1. The Feudal Revival

2. The Enduring Allure of Feudalism

3. The Rise and Decline of Liberal Capitalism

pt. II THE OLIGARCHS

4. High-Tech Feudalism

5. The Belief System of the New Oligarchy

6. Feudalism in California, Harbinger of the Future

pt. III THE CLERISY

7. The New Legitimizers

8. The Control Tower

9. New Religions

pt. IV THE EMBATTLED YEOMANRY

10. The Rise and Decline of Upward Mobility

11. A Lost Generation?

12. Culture and Capitalism

pt. V THE NEW SERFS

13. Beyond the Ring Road

14. The Future of the Working Class

15. Peasant Rebellions

pt. VI THE NEW GEOGRAPHY OF FEUDALISM

16. The New Gated City

17. The Soul of the Neo-feudal City

18. The Totalitarian Urban Future

pt. VII A MANIFESTO FOR THE THIRD ESTATE

19. The Technological Challenge

20. The Shaping of Neo-feudal Society

21. Can We Challenge Neo-feudalism?.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Kotkin, Joel. The coming of neo-feudalism

ISBN:

9781641770941

1641770945

OCLC:

1119560309