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August 13, 2012

Moving toward feudalism

In feudal times people paid what they had to to the local knights, who undertook to defend them from the barbarians.
In those times the barbarians came from outside the city gates, although I expect they had some inside also. In our case we are raising cultures of barbarians, some in the cities, some in California’s Central Valley. So we pay $150,000 to $300,000 a year with full pensions after 20 years to police officers, the new Blue Knights. Knighthood was never hereditary although the chance to become a knight was much higher for the children of knights than for the peasantry, and over time the social classes became something like a caste system. Could we be going that way in the US? -- Jerry Pournelle

Posted by gerardvanderleun at August 13, 2012 5:25 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Do we not already pay our Danegeld?

Posted by: monkeyfan at August 13, 2012 7:28 PM

The new Blue Knights are the Barbarians, too. See, that's the way the game is played now. They're venal, poorly educated, of a median I.Q. and live to go a'thwacking for the fun of it. Plus, they consider themselves underpaid for the protection they provide; thus do they provide protection for other, more subtle agents of subjugation and penury-- the drug lords.

Posted by: Joan of Argghh at August 14, 2012 4:58 AM

The police seem to increasingly prefer to hassle citizens: safer, revenue source. Dealing with criminals is dangerous and costs money.

The law abiding middle class is getting preyed upon from below by the non-govt barbarians and from above by the govt funded barbarians. This does not bode well for civilization.

Posted by: butch at August 14, 2012 11:51 AM

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