The Twenty First Century Feudal agricultural society was basically a stable society. This was because the methods and means of production in such societies did not change for centuries. Modern industry did not exist in that era, and the main economic production was agricultural production done by manual and animal labour, though there was also a small-scale handicraft industry in such societies. The tilling of the agricultural field in feudal society was done by primitive and backward methods of production e.g. the bullock in India, the buffalo in Vietnam, and the horse in Europe. In North India, the kharif crop (paddy, etc.) was sown at the time of the monsoon rains, and the rabi crop (wheat, etc.) was sown in the winter. The cycles of production kept repeating themselves without any change, year after year,decade after decade,century after century. Since the method of production in feudal societies did not change for centuries, such a society was basically stable, and the people were governed by customary (non-statutory and unwritten) rules. This situation is in sharp contrast to modern industrial society. In modern industrial society, the method and the means of production are often, and often quickly, changing because of new scientific inventions and discoveries. For example, the internet was unheard of till about twenty years ago but today it is indispensable, the first aircraft was invented in the world in the USA by the Wright Brothers in 1903, the first atom bomb exploded in 1945, and the first space flight took place in 1957, and so on and so forth. Society, far from being stagnant as in feudal times, is in motion, and the speed seems to be accelerating ( see Alvin Tofflers Future Shock ). Modern industrial society is hence basically unstable (in sharp contrast to feudal society which was basically stable) because of the inherently revolutionary nature of modern industry. New scientific inventions and discoveries keep causing changes in society and in social relations. As a result of this, statutes instead of customary rules are the main source of law in the modern era. In the feudal era, the backward methods of production produced so little wealth that only a handful of people, like kings and aristocrats could be rich, while 99% people had to be poor. When the cake is so small, very few people can eat it. In sharp contrast to this, modern industry is so powerful and so big that enough wealth can be generated to give every human being on the planet a decent life e.g. sufficient income, suitable jobs, nutritious food, healthcare, good education,proper housing etc. Hence, a unique situation has now developed in world history, which is, that now no one need be poor and everyone can have a decent, civilized life with opportunities to develop their intellectual potentials, recreation, etc The truth however is that 75%-80% of the people in the world today are still poor. The 21st century will therefore be characterised as the century in which the struggles of the poor people of the world, under the guidance of a modern minded and scientific leadership, are fought out to a conclusion, and result in creating societies everywhere in the world free of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of healthcare, good education, housing and other social evils, and creation of a just social order based on scientific ideas.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 05:29:19 +0000
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