I read this cross-post with great interest. I wonder if I can buy a franchise from Michael Huemer—I’d like to write a whole series of articles using his brilliant line of reasoning.
The first installment would be provisionally titled: “Be Grateful to Your Lord, You Lowly Serf.” It would explain why the wealth gap between lords and serfs wasn’t a problem at all. After all, the lords protected their serfs from raiders, settled disputes, and maintained order. They trained for years to become warriors, risking their lives to preserve peace. Their horses and armor were expensive! True, the serfs did labor on the land, but the land was granted to the lords by God himself to own and protect—as any honest priest would be happy to confirm.
Besides, the lords carried superior genes and noble heritage, which they even generously shared with some serfs through the occasional exercise of droit du seigneur—not so much a “right,” really, as a touching act of feudal philanthropy.
Surely it’s only fair they received a larger share of the surplus!
Next in the series: “Ancient Rome—Slaves’ Paradise Lost.”
I read this cross-post with great interest. I wonder if I can buy a franchise from Michael Huemer—I’d like to write a whole series of articles using his brilliant line of reasoning.
The first installment would be provisionally titled: “Be Grateful to Your Lord, You Lowly Serf.”
It would explain why the wealth gap between lords and serfs wasn’t a problem at all. After all, the lords protected their serfs from raiders, settled disputes, and maintained order. They trained for years to become warriors, risking their lives to preserve peace. Their horses and armor were expensive! True, the serfs did labor on the land, but the land was granted to the lords by God himself to own and protect—as any honest priest would be happy to confirm.
Besides, the lords carried superior genes and noble heritage, which they even generously shared with some serfs through the occasional exercise of droit du seigneur—not so much a “right,” really, as a touching act of feudal philanthropy.
Surely it’s only fair they received a larger share of the surplus!
Next in the series: “Ancient Rome—Slaves’ Paradise Lost.”