This idea has resurfaced in my mind after reading about the DeVos family's attempts to do away with public education. Possibly the most important element of maintaining a feudal society is to limit the flow of ideas. The easiest way to do this is to limit education. In the case of our society's wealthy elite, this means limiting education to themselves and essentially leaving the rest to be indoctrinated or given enough training to do the bidding of the wealthy elite. Some weeks back, this idea of an emerging feudalism occurred to me while talking with a craftsman, a cabinet maker. It's become very difficult for a craftsman to make a living by hand-crafting wood furniture. Almost all such things are constructed from prefabricated pieces. It occurred to me that the only way for my friend to make any money doing what he loves to do is to find a patron. A patron is a rich person that is willing to spend any amount of money to acquire something he cannot make for himself. I suppose watching the film Amadeus brought this to mind.

Our rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions will only exacerbate this process because the poor and whatever is left of the middle class will be unable to relocate while the wealth "move to higher ground".