Just to clarify in case of any misunderstanding of my comment (to which you originally replied)… I don’t view serfdom as a net benefit to the serfs. Nonetheles

Just to clarify in case of any misunderstanding of my comment (to which you originally replied)… I don’t view serfdom as a net benefit to the serfs. Nonetheless there were initially small benefits that surely dwindled to nothing over time. I think this is exactly where the op metaphor is most apt. When power is traded for comfort, what seems like a good deal now will eventually become a raw deal in the future. (And we moderns surely have more relative power than the serfs ever had)