Dan Little: Origins of feudalism in the West

Dan Little examines the Origins of feudalism in the West.

These observations make clear the central thrust of the book: there was substantial continuity between the institutions and economy of the late Roman Empire in the West and the political and economic institutions of European feudalism which followed it for a thousand years. This continuity is unwelcome to the "modes of production" train of thought, which postulates a sharp break between classical and feudal systems.…

Emphasis Mine

I disagree that the presented evidence argues against the "modes of production" train of thought. For example, Capitalism did not start on 14 July 1789—it had been developing for the previous 400 years within the confines of Feudalism. That social revolution eventually gave political power to the Capitalists, and greatly diminished the political power of the landed aristocracy. Society was then aligned to the mode of production which was Capitalism.

This new interpretation of the origin of Feudalism within the confines of the classical Roman slave society does not detract from the idea of historical materialism based on the mode of production. It would just mean that Roman society collapsed faster than feudalism was able to take up the slack. Indeed, the final collapse of ancient Roman society in Constantinople overlapped the genesis of Capitalism in Northern Italy.

The French Revolution unleashed the power of Capitalism. Whereas the greatest feudal king of France, Louis XIV, was able to attain and preserve the current borders of France, Napoleon Bonaparte was able to smash French rivals such as Austria and Prussia, disband the Holy Roman Empire, invade Egypt, invade Russia, invade Spain. All of this within a century of each other.

The transition from Feudalism to Capitalism within France unleashed a storm across Europe. The only power able to withstand France was the older Capitalist country: Britain. Feudal powers melted in the face of Capitalist military power with the exception of Russia.

Based on this historical experience of social transition from Feudalism to Capitalism, I am leery of a smooth transition from Roman slave society to Feudalism. There was an economic, political, military, and social collapse in Western Europe in the fifth century CE. The main viable system was Barbarism from which Feudalism developed.