just to elaborate a little further on the example of roads, there wasn't a
lot of investment in them in general; whether for the peasants/serfs or for the
lords. and they--the lords--would have done so had they felt it suited them,
but as keith aptly pointed out, one's affairs were much more local back then.
now, i expect this will raise a few eyebrows, but there is another aspect of
the then/now comparison which i have thought of often for some years now, and
insofar as which i honestly doubt we aren't actually worse off today. i'm
referring to freedom of movement. specifically, the freedom to go to far off
places/foreign lands. back in the day, travel was not an easy affair
(relatively
speaking), given the lack of roads, lodging and transport (other than on
foot), etc., not to mention the income with which to fund such travels.
nevertheless, there wasn't anything to really stop one if one had a mind to.
whereas today, the government (today's lords) has near-absolute control/power
over one's freedom of movement. one can't just decide to go to [your
destination here] without the government knowing about it and approving of it.
and
for most of us such movement isn't much more economically feasible than back
then, either.
-chris b.
--- Begin Message ---
Hi John
Yes, but in the 15th century, those dues got you what passed for
national defense and maybe some roads?
Today my taxes cover national defense, roads, trains and airports,
educational services, the court system and social services. They
also provide money to fund scientific research, space exploration,
protect the environment, and fund public health measures and
institutions like the CDC.
Um, now let's have a closer look at those things...
Or maybe not, eh? I can't see any of them that'll stand on their feet
the way you want them to. The whole thing's gone rotten.
That aside, I think the comparison's valid enough, it can stand on
its own without much clutter, but the comparison you're trying to
make certainly won't, truly apples and oranges, if not cabbages and
oranges. Roads? How much travelling did feudal citizens do, want to
do, need to do? Let alone serfs? Most of them never left the village,
nor wanted to. Economies were local, along with sort of annual
travelling enclave economies called fairs. And indeed their lord and
his men (thugs if you will) pretty much protected them, whereas most
Americans freely admit you're a lot less safe now than you were
before 9/11, for all the billions of your taxes spent on the "war on
terror" (and on fomenting fear and loathing to prop it all up). And
so on and on and on. It's all either a sham or it's being drastically
rolled back. That didn't happen in a 15th century feudal village
either. I'm not saying it was better, I am saying it was different,
far beyond any basis for the comparisons you're trying to make.
Best wishes
Keith
So yes, you're spot on, that's progress for you.
jh
Chris Lloyd wrote:
Some bright spark in the UK did a n in depth study last year and
found we spend more time earning money to pay our taxes than the
15^th century tenants did to pay off the dues to their landlords
and that included the house that went with the land. Thatís
progress for you. Chris.
feu
dal
ism** : the system of political organization prevailing in
Europe from the 9th to about the 15th centuries having as its
basis the relation of lord to vassal with all land held in fee and
as chief characteristics homage, the service of tenants under arms
and in court, wardship, and forfeiture
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