Why the term "Neofeudal"

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

"And I believe these are the days,
Of Lasers in the jungle,
Lasers in the jungle somewhere,
Staccato signals of constant information,
A loose affiliation of millionaires,
And billionaires..."

-- Paul Simon, from 'The Boy in the Bubble'

I've never been one to follow fads. Over the years, the various 'scares' that sent a few people running for the desert never even phased me. I knew there were problems with our leadership, but they were somewhat remote and overtly political.

Then the World Trade Center thing happened, and suddenly things got very weird and very uncomfortable very quickly. I watched with horror as the Corporate Police State began closing in on We, the People. I watched the airports come to resemble large, airy, poorly-decorated indoor concentration camps. I watched in horror as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were dismissed out-of-hand in the name of 'security'. Being raised to believe in the concept of "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave," I was appalled at how easily people were willing to trade Freedom for Slavery and Bravery for Cowardice. I wondered long and hard about what happened to those ideals.

I think we got off on the wrong path at some point.

Then, in the Summer of 2007, I started doing something I'd never done before: I started stockpiling food. It was an unconscious act at first that later made it's way into my consciousness. Bear Sterns had just collapsed, there was a worldwide rice shortage, and talk of increasing the usage of corn (a food staple) for ethanol. Something inside clicked, and I started buying dried good (beans, rice, pasta) and canned vegetables and fruit. I created a pantry in my basement that became filled to the brim with such goods. Yet still I felt that I hadn't done enough.

When Bear Stearns collapsed, I pulled all my money out of the stock market and into so-called 'investment' property, which is really just Land in the Middle of Nowhere. I started buying tools. I had already set up a solar array, but now I increased it's capability. I started a garden. These were all things that I'd never bothered with before, and yet now they were consuming most of my extra cash and free time. When finally I bought chickens, I decided it was time to go to the next level: to move to the back country and start realizing my vision.

I had mixed feelings about the whole turn of events. On one hand, I was satisfying a deep-seated urge. On the other hand, I felt a bit foolish...at that point.

I don't feel this way any longer.

Which leads me to the title of the blog. Why. I believe we are on the cusp of entering a Neofeudal Age. I write that, and yet it's still difficult for me wrap my head around, given that just a decade ago we heralded the onset of the Age of Information. Ironically, that 'Age' had the staying power of the latest 'killer app' du jour, which is to say little to none. And with the speed of a dot.com IPO, the Age of Information was discarded in favor of Neofeudal Age.

The Feudal Age was a period prior to the Renaissance that lasted several centuries. During this period, Feudal Lords 'leased' pieces of their land local fiefs. The fifes were allowed to work the land, and in return they were given not-quite-enough to survive and were forced to turn over most of the harvest to the Feudal Lord.
Today, the gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' has grown into a gaping chasm. There seems to be a movement to re-create the American Landscape according to the the laws of the Feudal Age. The American Middle Class, the society in which I was raised, is disintegrating. We're entering an era where Corporations (the new Feudal Lords) control everything, and what they don't control directly they control via lobbyists and corrupt politicians.

For my part, I'm just trying to get out of the way. I'm going about that by building an eco-friendly, self-sustaining human habitat. My goal is to require little to nothing from an overseas supply chain that I see as unsustainable.

So there it is, and here we are. Hang on. It's going to be a rough ride.

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia: Neofeudalism
• Christopher Hedges on Neo-Feudalism