I was reading a article on the Daily Kos today, and while the entire article was worthwhile, there was one point it make that stuck in my mind more than the others. The author said that the markets of today, rather than being vehicles for the creation of wealth, are now vehicles for the concentration of wealth.
That sounds very much like the feudalism of the middle ages. A small oligarchy which produced nothing controlled most of the wealth. Food and clothing was produced and consumed, but the society as a whole was stagnant. Innovation of any sort was suspect as it had the potential of challenging either the interests of the ruling class or those of the church. Literacy was the exception, rather than the norm, even among the ruling classes.
Which is exactly where we seem to be going. The public school system is being systematically dismantled, science is being subjugated to ideology, the middle class is being driven to extinction, and ownership of essentially everything is slowly being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Our own home grown version of the Taliban seeks to exercise their control over more and more aspect of our lives.
The Roman empire is crumbling, and the new nobility stands ready to resume their rightful station.
