I think that what I really want is the current European social-welfare model, rather than anything as world-shakingly different as feudalism. As for semi-perma

I think that what I really want is the current European social-welfare model, rather than anything as world-shakingly different as feudalism. As for semi-permanent elites, I think I've been reading too many books on old money lately. You're right: people who start poor easily become rich, and people who start rich easily become poor. "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" is a human universal... And, now that I think of it, "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" was just as true under feudalism as in any other system: the average noble house was extinct in three generations. Shrugs. So much for that...