Introduction
The feudal mode of production dominated the European political and economic systems in the medieval era. Given that land was the main factor of production during the medieval period, the social hierarchy of monarchs, lords, tenants, and peasants ensured sustainable ownership and lucrative production (Dimmock, 2014, p. 49). Through the hierarchical relationship, monarchs ruled their empires using lords who owned land and leased it to tenants for the feudal mode of production. Lords provided land, protection, and power, which enabled tenants to manage peasants and generate optimum production. However, social, economic, and political changes during the medieval era led to the decline in feudalism and the emergence of capitalism. Furthermore, an increase in international trade due to globalization boosted the growth of capitalism since the 16th century. Therefore, numerous key elements have contributed to both the decline of feudalism in the medieval period and the emergence of capitalism in the modern world.
Numerous Key Elements
The Empowerment of Women
Feudalism heavily relied on female labor to advance the hierarchy of power relationships, which allowed lords, tenants, and men to exploit women in the production of free labor. According to Federici (2004), the roles of women were inferior because the feudal production disregarded their domestic duties, such as washing, cooking, and spinning (p. 25). In essence, women operated in social relationships of master-servant conditions, and they did not have the power to influence their economic conditions. Patriarchal society placed women in disadvantaged positions where they lacked social and economic influence in society. Additionally, the church and the Canonic law endeared women to be submissive and obedient to men in their families and societies. The patriarchal society perpetuated feudalism as it supported social hierarchies for master-servant relationships. However, when women realized that they contributed significantly to both patriarchal society and feudal power, they started to agitate for their emancipation and empowerment. Thus, the empowerment of women was a crucial factor that contributed to the decline in the feudal mode of production.
Peasant Revolt
The maintenance of social hierarchy sustained feudalism for centuries because it treated peasants as slaves who worked for monarchies, lords, and tenants. The breakdown of slavery made peasants revolt and denounce their positions in the social structure that supported feudalism (Dimmock, 2014, p. 74). In the late 14th century, peasants started to revolt against their masters due to the unfair treatment of slavery in which they endured for centuries. Frequent mass attacks by armed peasants threatened not only the lives but also the power of lords that dominated the middle era. In their revolt, peasants aimed to generate profits from their labor, enlarge their economic activities, and expand juridical rights (Federici, 2004, p. 26). The revolt also emanated from the persistent feudal power since lords employed judicial powers to impose fines on peasants who claimed to be free and refused to provide required labor services. Continued suppression and exploitation of peasants awakened their resolve to fight for their rights and emancipate their lives. Hence, revolt contributed to the decline of feudalism as peasants refused to provide labor services according to the established social hierarchy.
Reluctance by Tenants
In the social hierarchy of feudalism, tenants played a substantial role in managing peasants and ensuring that lords and monarchies got optimum profits from labor. Tenants had to enforce laws and execute commands from their masters who wielded feudal power. However, peasant revolt discouraged the efforts of tenants since they were not able to control the production process. During the 13th century, the massive withdrawal of peasants from labor weakened the powers of lords in the production process. Federici (2004) asserts that tenants began to resist working for lords by not allowing their children to participate in labor, refusing to obey feudal dictates, attending to their duties when late, and sustaining a rebellious attitude (p. 26). Consequently, labor services provided by both peasants and tenants decreased gradually, leading to a negative impact on the feudal mode of production. Therefore, the decrease in the performance of tenants contributed immensely to the demise of feudalism.
Increased Land Rights
Given that peasants had no right to own land and produce their food, they relied on land granted by lords. Nevertheless, growing peasant revolt compelled lords to extend land rights to peasants. Federici (2004) reports that lords in the Roman Empire prevented peasants from revolting against feudalism by allowing them to own land and employ laborers (p. 23). Additionally, extended rights to own land prevented peasants from escaping into marginal territories. With ownership of land, peasants were able to empower their economic status, create wealth, and offer inheritance to their children. Consequently, lords and tenants lost their feudal power to control and enslave peasants in the production system. Federeci (2004) explains that the provision of land boosted the autonomy of peasants and enhanced their economic activities since they could participate in the production process, as well as bargain for their rights and alleviate oppressive rule (p. 24). As a result, the master-servant nature of relationships begun to fade away, resulting in the gradual decline of feudalism.
Local Self-Government
Given that feudalism relied on powers emanating from monarchies, which followed a hierarchical pattern in execution, the establishment of autonomous governments in villages was the first outcome of servile struggles. According to Federici (2004), “the concession to many villages, particularly in Northern Italy and France, of ‘privileges’ and ‘charters’ that fixed the burdens and granted an element of autonomy in the running of the village community” (p. 28). These villages had enhanced the power of self-rule because they determined regulations and fines imposed on peasants, and thus weakening the authoritarian rule of monarchies. In their bid to sustain feudalism, lords progressively failed since the established villages had acquired more power to resist master-servant relationships. By the 15th century, most villages had attained self-rule and enjoyed the liberty of choosing their mode of production. Therefore, the establishment of autonomic villages is a crucial factor that led to the demise of feudalism because it limited the jurisdiction of lords and monarchies.
Commutation of Labor Services
The persistence of master-servant conflicts in feudalism necessitated the establishment of a sustainable solution. Commutation of labor services diminished feudalism because it curtailed a master-servant relationship by putting it on a contractual form where money became the basis of engagement (Dimmock, 2014, p. 65). Peasants engaged in labor to get money, while tenants and lords entered into contracts that would generate taxes and rents (Federici, 2004, p. 29). Peasant saw that they got value for their labor if they engaged in contractual labor where they earned wages for their socio-economic progress. Increasingly, serfdoms started to disintegrate because feudal form of production was no longer tenable and sustainable. Federici (2004) argues that wealthy peasants who owned land were able to buy their freedom, employ workers, and generate profits (p. 29). Commutation of labor services caused the demise of feudalism because it reduced the power of lords. Moreover, commutation of labor services led to the rise of capitalism since it enhanced economic independence of peasants.
Gendered Division of Labor
The division of labor contributed immensely to the demise of feudalism and the rise of capitalism. In the feudal economy, peasants provided unspecialized labor in the agricultural industry to allow the division of labor among workers. Brown (1996) perceives “the division of labor as an explanation of the sources of increased productiveness, and pervasiveness and strength of the motive to ‘better one’s condition’ as a spur to individual profit-seeking behavior” (p. 153). The division of labor substantially improved the efficiency and effectiveness of labor, resulting in enhanced production in the feudal economy. The beneficial effects of the division of labor were reduced time, increased dexterity, and improved mechanization. Overall, the division of labor allowed workers to increase their products and supplies in various facets of society. In this view, the focus of the production in the feudal system concentrated on money and profits, leading to a gradual shift to capitalism.
The division of labor based on gender is one of the key factors that affected the feudal means of production and enhanced capitalism. Despite the commutation of labor as a progressive outcome in the labor industry, gendered labor services allowed lords to exploit women and accumulate wealth. The history of gender shows that the main factor that contributed to capitalism is the social construct of the patriarchal order, which made female workers subjects of male laborers (Federici, 2004, p. 115). Moreover, the gendered division of labor dictated the nature duties that male and female workers undertake, with discrimination of women as inferior and their labor undervalued. Consequently, gendered labor recognized male laborers but exploited female workers. According to Federici (2004), gendered differences in the labor market encouraged the exploitation of women, while the accumulation of primitive wealth owing to unpaid work stimulated the expansion of capitalism (p. 115). The primitive accumulation of wealth from female workers contributed to class struggles, schisms, inequalities, and hierarchies, which eventually diminished feudal power and fueled the growth of capitalism.
Growth of Trade
The division of labor and mechanization of the agricultural sector coupled with the increased efficiency and effectiveness of production spurred the growth of trade. Both lords and peasants sought to participate in the trade as a way of accessing markets for their products. Brown (1996) reports that “there was an emergent and growing ‘new’ middle class involved in new form of manufacture and trade, as well as the traditional merchant order of feudalism” (p. 33). Since peasants formed a significant proportion of the population, their engagement in the trade shifted the mode of production from feudalism to capitalism. Continued expansion of the manufacturing and trade opened international markets and contributed to the economic growth of respective countries (Dimmock, 2014, p. 49). Globalization of trade formed the basis of capitalism because it magnified profits and encouraged the accumulation of wealth among the privileged classes (Wood, 2017, p. 81). Thus, trade empowered peasants and lords to become merchants who undertook trade at national and international levels, which diminished feudalism and promoted the growth of capitalism.
Migration of Peasants
The reliance on peasants in the production process started to decline owing to their migration into town and cities. The growth of industries in urban areas attracted peasants who had revolted to feudalism in remote areas and focused on contract labor to earn wages. Peasants observed that engaging in contract labor was more profitable than feudal work because it provides the freedom of choice and bargain power for higher earnings. Given that cities and towns provide lucrative opportunities, peasants migrated to explore and exploit burgeoning manufacturing industries. Wood (2017) points out that the growth of towns and trade occurred due to the accumulation of wealth, which is a key attribute of capitalism (p. 17). As the commutation of labor increased competition in the labor market, it discouraged lords from relying on unwilling peasants as the primary source of labor in their farms and industries. Subsequently, feudalism declined as peasants deserted their lords and explored capitalistic opportunities in towns.
Formation of Proletariat
The development of manufacturing and the emergence of trade stimulated the growth of the proletariat. The division of labor improved the production process, which in turn spurred the growth of trade and attracted workers from various remote areas to towns and cities. Given that proletarians focused on the value of their labor, they participated in both the manufacturing and commercial industries. While the manufacturing industry created lucrative opportunities for workers, the commercial industry formed a value-addition channel through which merchants got profits from the industrial products. The commutation of labor allowed peasants to bargain for their labor and achieve optimum benefits, making them acquire and accumulate wealth. According to Federici (2004), a network of inequalities among proletarians and global exploitation in the labor market were the main drivers of capitalism during the medieval period (p. 17). The dominance of proletarians in the manufacturing and trade industries aroused class struggles, which was a significant characteristic of capitalism. Wood (2017) argues that class struggles between peasants and lords led to demise of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism (p. 38). In this view, it is apparent that the growth of proletarians weakened feudalism and promoted capitalism.
Conclusion
Feudalism is the mode of production that existed during the medieval era, while capitalism is the modern economic system. The scrutiny of history revealed that numerous key elements contributed to the shift in the economic systems from feudalism to capitalism. The women empowerment enabled women to agitate for their rights, peasant revolt denied lords free labor services, and the reluctance by tenants to enforce feudal powers are some of the factors that weakened feudalism and accelerated the growth of capitalism. Moreover, the increased rights to land ownership, the enhanced powers of self-rule in villages, and the commutation of labor services limited feudal power and empowered peasants to engage in economic activities that promoted capitalism. The division of labor improved specialization in the labor industry, allowed commutation of female labor, promoted the growth of trade and industries, created lucrative job opportunities in towns and cities, which attracted peasants, and stimulated the emergence of proletarians who hastened the growth of capitalism. Therefore, it is evident that numerous key elements shaped the economic systems over time and led to the demise of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism.
References
Brown, V. (1996). The emergence of the economy. In S. Hall & B Gieben (Eds.). Formations of modernity: An introduction to modern societies (pp. 127-174). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Dimmock, S. (2014). The origin of capitalism in England, 1400-1600. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers.
Federici, S. (2004). The accumulation of labor and the degradation of women in Caliban and the witch. New York, NY: Autonomedia.
Wood, E. M. (2017). The origin of capitalism: A longer view. New York, NY: Verso.