> snappy 1 word reduction is generally not a very good idea. It just leads politicization 'Sound byte' reductive labels seem to be a symptom, not a cause, of p

> snappy 1 word reduction is generally not a very good idea. It just leads politicization 'Sound byte' reductive labels seem to be a symptom, not a cause, of political tribalism. Or they are both side effects of attention driven add-supported platforms, where the degenerate strategy for attention is outrage. Or they're all mutually reinforcing. I want to live in the world where labels still have value. But that will require a cultural shift back to people listening to each other. "Supply and demand" is a simple label, but we can still say it and unpack all the ways it's manipulated. We just need to let words be stepping stones and not lines in the sand. Anyway, that's getting very meta and further from a chat on feudalism. Insights I'd love to hear from a historian include: How much worse was serfdom than current wage slavery? How much of that was a function of technology? What alternative (better?) systems existed at the same technology level? What forces led to feudalism being replaced? Do they have contemporary analogues that can now help us reduce wealth inequality and protect the middle class? Asking just because it sounds interesting. Not trying to pigeon hole your politics OR have you write my undergrad history paper. Cheers.