Question

It has often been said that, "Feudalism is dead. It died with the Black Plague."

Having learned more about how Feudalism and Fiefs and Fealty worked, discuss whether it ever really died.

1. Has it existed in other places and times? Give examples.

2. Is it alive today in other forms. If so, what other forms?  

Answer 1

1. Feudalism, a medieval hierarchy of social structure divided people according to the class they belonged to. Nobles and lords in the medieval Europe dominated the ordinary people as they were in-between the monarchy and people. Soldiers were in-between the ordinary people and the lords and nobles. People who were part of the feudal system, lords and nobles owned great deal of lands and paid taxes to the monarch. Feudal system is not dead yet as most of the societies have their own kind of hierarchy based on the social structure. For example, India has caste system that divided people according to their professions. In Russia and China, the same feudal system was present with the class differences. In America, it was the racial structure that dominated the society for long.    

2. Today, the feudal system is present in the government structure where the bureaucracy plays the role of the nobles and the lords while the common people remain the same with their regular life issues. Race is one form that is prevalent in America, Caste is still present in India and in other countries it is both race and class. Rich and poor division still is an existing system in many countries. Gender inequality is yet another issue which reflects the feudal system.