My title of course refers to the seminal work of Austrian-British man of sense and sensibility Friedrich Hayek.
Published in 1944, The Road to Serfdom:
“‘(Warns) of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning.’
“(It) further argues that the abandonment of individualism and classical liberalism inevitably leads to a loss of freedom, the creation of an oppressive society, the tyranny of a dictator, and the serfdom of the individual.”
Well, welcome to the United States of America - 2024.
All of the above - is well underway in the USA. Well past the point of any sort of return, in my estimation.
What is serfdom, you ask?:
“(T)he status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery.”
Although technically speaking - we’re more peasants than serfs:
“Peasants…were not tied to the land and had more freedom to move around. However, they still had to pay taxes and work for their lord.
“The daily life of a serf or peasant was filled with hard work. They were responsible for farming the land and providing food for their families and their lord. This involved long hours of manual labor, often in harsh conditions.
“Serfs and peasants also had to pay taxes in the form of crops or goods to their lord, further adding to their workload.
“Despite these challenges, serfs and peasants were an integral part of the feudal system. They provided the labor that kept society functioning, and without them, the system would have collapsed.
“However, they were often subject to mistreatment and exploitation by their lords. One key aspect of serfdom and peasant life was the lack of social mobility. Both groups were born into their positions and could not rise above them.
Welcome to the United States of America - 2024.
Although our Elites outsource the peasant-making - to the crony governments they own.
My favorite comedian is an England-residing Australian named Steve Hughes. Who more than a decade ago aptly described the difference between slavery and modern peasant-dom:
“(Peasant-dom) is made up by the ruling elite so we’re tired and poor and can’t rebel or philosophize about our own existence and actually evolve properly.”
“It’s slavery - but we have to get our own accommodation and food.
“Are you under some illusion they gave up slavery for morality? They did some math.
“‘So we’ve got to look out for these (slaves). We’ve got to feed them - we’ve got to clothe them. They get sick - we’ve got to fix them. We’ve got to give them somewhere to live.
“‘I’ve worked it out: Why don’t we give them two bucks-fifty an hour - and tell them to (screw) off?
“‘You lot - you’re free to go. Yeah. We’ll see you back here at 7:30 tomorrow morning.’”
How do we know the Ruling Elite don’t mind full-on slavery?
Modern Slavery in Business: The Sad and Sorry State
Modern Slavery and Exploitative Work Regimes
Of course, when you think slavery and business - you think of Communist China.
Supply Chains Tainted by Forced Labor in China
Major Global Brands Profiting From Forced Uighur Labor
So is it at all a surprise that the Globalist Elites exploiting government slave labor all over the planet - get the US government to create conditions as close as possible to slavery-peasant-serfdom here?
As The Coronavirus Pandemic Spreads, The Wealth Gap Widens in America
Why Do the Rich Keep Getting Richer and the Poor Keep Getting Poorer?
Because of Globalist-Elite-favoring crony government policy, of course.
No Laffer: We Are On the Wrong Side of the Crony Curve
Corrupt DC: Out - Constituent Service. In - Crony Service
Nothing Says ‘Small Business’ - Like Big Government Handing Big Business Big Crony Policy
Big Gov's Sell-Out, Crony Legislative Theater: 'Let's Pretend We're Outraged'
Government Has an Ongoing Problem Issuing Monopoly, Crony Contracts
The Real Protectionism: Defending DC’s Crony Globalist Fake ‘Free Trade’
Deep State Crony Heinousness and China: Crypto-Currency Edition
How Did Big Tech Get So Big? Massive Government Cronyism - Like Section 230
The New Cronyism: Big Tech Censors Conservatives - Democrats Deliver Crony Policies
And perhaps no portion of our dystopian economy better represents the feudal enterprise that is modern America - than the banking sector.
'Hedge Funds, Big Banks, and BlackRock. These Guys Run the World'
'Too Big to Fail' - to 'We Only Need 3 or 4 Banks' - in 13 Years
Big Gov's 'Misinformation' - Lies - Also in the Service of Big Banks
Big Gov, Big Banks and Debt-to-GDP: We Little Guys Are Screwed
Indeed we peasants are.
Big Government forces more and more small banks out of business. Which allows the Big Banks to gobble up their assets - and their marketshare. Lather, rinse, repeat….
Dodd-Frank Is Making Big Banks Bigger, Crippling Small Banks
Lockdowns: Big Banks' Further Market Consolidation - Further Aided by Big Government
The bigger the Big Banks get - the more cronyism Big Gov gives them.
Like, say, murdering all of the Big Banks’ competitors.
Small Lenders Beg DC to Not Accelerate DC's Executing Them:
“Nothing emboldens bureaucrats to do their next, even more obnoxious thing - like getting away with their last obnoxious thing.”
Big Banks Charge Ridiculous Loan Rates - Big Gov Isn't Looking to Murder Them
Big Banks charge We the Peasants ridiculous loan rates. That is, until they stop lending to We the Peasants - and only loan to the Globalist Elite.
Poor People Home Mortgages Down 46% - Rich People Art Collection Mortgages Up 30%
The Little Guy Can't Even Get a $200 Loan Anymore
With Big Gov’s help - naturally.
DC Destroys the Economy - Then Bans Loans for Poor People
I hardly wonder why the wealth gap keeps widening.
It’s really feeling feudal in here.