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Once upon a time, virtually the whole world engaged in subsistence farming. A good year was when you grew enough food to keep your entire family alive. A great year was when you grew a little bit more than you needed to stay alive, and could sell a turnip or two.

Feudal lords taxed people (mostly materials, not cash). In addition, peasants worked for the local lord and built castles, roads, cathedrals, etc. No money changed hands, but you could be fed for doing the work. That was a form of wealth redistribition -- the government taxes everyone, and then has people perform work, and gives them the taxes (food) that was collected.

If you look hard, you can see that America still follows an economic system that has some of these features. In other countries, it is even more obvious. People in China make $2 a year? Sure. They work, and the government keeps them from starving. Cash is really not required.

In the cities, things can be different. As the old Medieval saying went: "City air makes you free." The city burghers created the bourgeoisie -- the Middle Class that actually used money for daily living. Commerce and craftsmanship created real opportunity.

Note that in the Chinese countryside, the people are not free, but must worry about survival. Note also that we in the West have turned this around -- most of the people in our cities are not "free" but are wholly dependent on government handouts.

We are all so much closer to serfdom than we like to think.

Interesting take. I have been to Beijing and it is relatively expensive. I do understand that there is way more to China than Beijing and the rest of the country deals with basics that you can get off the land. It makes sense but the 2 dollar a year thing is hard to get your head around. If it had been 200 a year that is much more realistic or at least can sorta see.

Most people like the idea of serfdom, so long as it doesn’t offend their precious post-modern sensibilities.

Real freedom requires virtue, hard work, and the ability to accept failure.

Serfs don’t have to do any of that, their lives are structured for them and they don’t have to think or do anything other than what they’re told.