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Feudalism Quotes on History and Power

Old power structures, lasting echoes

These quotes trace feudalism as a historical stage many Marxist thinkers place between older economies and Capitalism, particularly in less industrialized regions.

The danger in media concentration comes not from the concentration, but instead from the feudalism that this concentration, tied to the change in copyright, produces.

Quotes by Lawrence Lessig

We modern Marxists regard socialism as a historically brief transitional stage between feudalism and capitalism, necessary only in backward countries.

Quotes by John McCarthy

The First World War, and especially the latest one, largely swept away what was left in Europe of feudalism and of feudal landlords, especially in Poland, Hungary, and the South East generally.

Quotes by Emily Greene Balch

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century bourgeois Europe needed to emancipate itself from that combination of feudalism and commercial capitalism which we know as mercantilism.

Quotes by C. L. R. James

Away Quotes

Totalitarianism is feudalism in the twelfth century sense of the word.

Quotes by Barbara Amiel

You have to look at the history of the Middle East in particular. It has been one of failure and frustration, of feudalism and tribalism.

Quotes by Alexander Haig

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do these quotes define the relationship between feudalism and capitalism?
One quote frames feudalism as a brief transitional stage some Marxist thinkers place between older economic systems and Capitalism, especially relevant in what the speaker calls more backward or less industrialized countries.
Did feudalism end at a specific point in history, according to these quotes?
One quote points to the World Wars, especially the second, as largely sweeping away remaining feudal structures across parts of Europe, particularly landlord systems in countries like Poland and Hungary.
Can 'feudalism' describe something other than medieval land ownership?
Yes — one quote applies the term to modern media concentration, suggesting that ownership patterns following a Change in copyright law can resemble a kind of feudal control over information.
What role does mercantilism play in these feudalism quotes?
One quote describes eighteenth-century bourgeois Europe as needing to break free from a combination of feudalism and commercial capitalism together known as mercantilism, treating it as an intermediate economic phase.
Do these quotes treat feudalism as purely a European phenomenon?
The specific historical examples given focus on Europe, particularly Poland, Hungary, and the broader continent, though the underlying economic concepts are discussed in more general terms elsewhere.

One quote even applies the term to modern media concentration, arguing that ownership structures today can echo old feudal patterns after a Change in copyright law.