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The Coming of
NEO
Feudalism
A WARNING TO THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS
JOEL KOTKIN
© 2020 by Joel Kotkin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York 10003.
First American edition published in 2020 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation. Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
Manufactured in the United States and printed on acid-free paper. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Names: Kotkin, Joel, author.
Title: The coming of neo-feudalism : a warning to the global middle class / by Joel Kotkin.
Description: First American edition. | New York : Encounter Books, [2020] Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019044952 (print) | LCCN 2019044953 (ebook) ISBN 9781641770941 (cloth) | ISBN 9781641770958 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Social classes—History—21st century.
Distribution (Economic theory)—History—21st century.
Social history—21st century.
Classification: LCC HT609 .K68 2020 (print) | LCC HT609 (ebook) DDC 305.509/05—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044952
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044953
To Mandy, who means everything to me
CONTENTS
PART I. HOW FEUDALISM CAME BACK
2. The Enduring Allure of Feudalism
3. The Rise and Decline of Liberal Capitalism
5. The Belief System of the New Oligarchy
6. Feudalism in California, Harbinger of the Future
PART IV. THE EMBATTLED YEOMANRY
10. The Rise and Decline of Upward Mobility
14. The Future of the Working Class
PART VI. THE NEW GEOGRAPHY OF FEUDALISM
17. The Soul of the Neo-feudal City
18. The Totalitarian Urban Future
PART VII. A MANIFESTO FOR THE THIRD ESTATE
19. The Technological Challenge
20. The Shaping of Neo-feudal Society
