SOMEONE MISSED THE ENTIRE INDUSTRIAL AGE:

This emerging class structure reprises, albeit with far less ­starvation, the patterns of the Middle Ages, with each class performing distinct social functions and defined economic roles. In this new order, there are two ­ascendant classes: the oligarchs and the clerisy. And there are two classes struggling to serve the ­ascendant classes, and to maintain for ­themselves a decent standard of living: the ­yeomanry and the new serfs.

The old feudal order evolved gradually, as the last structures of Roman republicanism first weakened, then totally collapsed due to the barbarian invasions. The seizure of Europe by the barbarian hordes upended an entire ­civilization, including its class structures. The collapse was due as much to the weakness of Roman institutions as to the ruthlessness of barbarian leaders. The feudalism that ensued would simplify ­society under the rule of two ­classes, the military aristocracy and the ­clerical class, while most people lived ­essentially in bondage to one or the other.

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