Our Benevolent Feudalism

"Our Benevolent Feudalism" by William J. Ghent is a critical examination of early 20th-century society that compares modern industrial structures to a new type of feudal system. The book unpacks how powerful industrialists dominate the working class, reshaping the experiences of farmers and wage-earners who are increasingly dependent on the wealthy elite, thus recreating a feudal order. Early on, the author sets up an environment of societal change through social ideals and predictions for the future, exploring how power and wealth have been concentrated in the hands of a few, which begins to form the foundation of a new, inescapable, feudal world.