Freedom isn't Feudal
I have noticed a particularly cheap dropline used by many in the collective Opposition: Calling Trump, Musk, and the MAGA movement “fascists”. It makes for good headlines. It rallies the troops. It feels like the strongest condemnation possible. Of course, it doesn’t help when Musk, Bannon, and a now resigned CEO are phallically popping off Nazi salutes! But here’s the truth: calling it fascism is intellectually lazy, but more importantly, it is a distraction from what’s actually happening.
Why Calling It Fascism Is a False Argument
Fascism is a specific, historically defined ideology. It’s not just “authoritarianism we don’t like.” Classical fascism—Mussolini, Hitler, Franco—relies on a highly centralized state, a militarized economy, and a rigid nationalistic identity where the government controls nearly all aspects of life. Fascists consolidate power into a monolithic, top-down system where the state dominates business, culture, media, and everyday existence.
That’s not what Trump, Musk, or the MAGA movement are doing. They’re not trying to strengthen the government—they’re trying to hollow it out. They’re not seeking a strong, centralized state to impose their will—they want a weak government that can’t regulate their power.
Trump openly despises the bureaucracy of government. He doesn’t consolidate it; he guts it, installing loyalists in key positions while letting everything else rot. Musk isn’t a state-worshipping ideologue; he’s a feudal lord hoarding private control over infrastructure (social media, AI, space travel, internet access). Neither wants to impose state-run control over business, culture, or media. They want billionaires and private oligarchs to control it instead.
That’s not fascism. That’s feudalism.
Why It’s Feudalism, Not Fascism
Feudalism isn’t about an all-powerful state. It’s about a fractured landscape of power where the ruling class controls key resources and everyone else must pledge loyalty or perish.
Trump is the King – Not a bureaucratic dictator, but a sovereign who demands personal loyalty above all else. His court is filled with sycophants, and those who displease him are exiled.
Musk is the Infrastructure Lord – Controlling not just social media but internet access (Starlink), AI, and even space travel. He isn’t democratizing technology; he’s monopolizing it.
Christian nationalism is the Church – Providing the moral framework that convinces the serfs their suffering is noble and rebellion is sinful.
The masses are the Serfs – Not legally bound to the land, but economically trapped, unable to escape a system where survival depends on obedience to corporate and political overlords.
Fascism vs. Feudalism: Who Actually Benefits?
Here’s a key distinction that makes all the difference:
In fascism, if you’re part of the movement, you benefit. The ruling class rewards loyalty. If you’re a good Nazi or a devoted Mussolini supporter, the system grants you privileges—better jobs, business advantages, government contracts, safety from persecution.
In feudalism, you can be the most loyal subject in the kingdom, but you still get nothing.
That’s exactly what we see with Trump and Musk. Loyalty is demanded, but it is not rewarded. MAGA voters donate their last dollars to Trump’s legal fees, but he wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire. Right-wing influencers shill for Musk, but he bans them the moment they inconvenience him. The average conservative voter gets no wealth, no security, no power—just the illusion of belonging to a cause.
It’s a classic feudal dynamic. The lords don’t elevate their followers. They use them as foot soldiers, pit them against each other, and discard them when they’re no longer useful. In fascism, the people serve the state. In feudalism, the people serve the lords—and the lords couldn’t care less about them.
What Won’t Work to Defeat Modern Feudalism
Voting Alone Won’t Save Us – Elections matter, but they don’t change the fact that the real power is held by those who control the economy, technology, and culture. Electing different leaders won’t dismantle a feudal system.
Fact-checking and Debating Won’t Work – Feudal power isn’t built on truth. It’s built on loyalty and spectacle. Trying to “debunk” Trump or Musk with logic is like debating a medieval king’s divine right to rule—it misses the point.
Appealing to Institutions Won’t Work – Courts, regulatory bodies, and media watchdogs have either been captured or rendered ineffective. The system isn’t broken; it’s working exactly as intended—to keep power in the hands of a few.
Traditional Protest Won’t Be Enough – Marches and demonstrations have symbolic value, but as long as people rely on the feudal overlords for their income, their communication, and their community, they won’t risk real rebellion.
The U.S. Constitution Was Designed to Prevent Feudalism
The irony is that America was specifically built to prevent this exact system—and it failed spectacularly. The Founders didn’t just want to avoid monarchy. They wanted to prevent the economic and political power structures of feudal Europe from taking hold in the New World. That’s why they created:
A Constitution instead of a monarchy – No kings. No divine rulers. Just a set of laws that applied to everyone (in theory).
A democratic republic – The idea was that power wouldn’t be handed down through bloodlines or patronage, but through elections.
A free-market economy – Instead of a handful of aristocrats controlling land and wealth, individuals could create their own opportunities.
This was a direct rejection of feudalism, where wealth and power were locked into a rigid hierarchy. But while the Constitution successfully blocked traditional feudalism, it didn’t anticipate corporate feudalism, where instead of lords controlling land, we get:
Billionaires controlling infrastructure (Musk and the internet, Bezos and commerce, BlackRock and the economy).
Tech giants controlling speech and discourse (social media algorithms determine what’s real).
A political class that swears fealty to their donors instead of their voters.
In theory, the Constitution allows us to fight back. But in practice, it has been outmaneuvered by a system that transfers power from the state to private entities, where constitutional protections don’t apply. The First Amendment doesn’t stop Musk from banning you. The Fourth Amendment doesn’t stop Google from tracking you. The balance of power has shifted away from public institutions and into the hands of a new aristocracy—one that operates outside the reach of democratic control.
Send lawyers, guns, and money
The shit has hit the fan- Warren Zevon
Entrepreneurship Is the Antidote to Feudalism
One of the only real weapons against modern feudalism is entrepreneurial independence. Feudalism thrives when people are economically dependent on the system. If you work for a corporate giant, rely on billionaire-owned social media for your business, or depend on government handouts, you’re trapped inside their hierarchy.
But true free-market capitalism—the kind that empowers small business owners, independent creators, and decentralized networks—is a direct threat to feudal control.
If people own their own businesses, they don’t need corporate overlords.
If people build decentralized technology, they don’t need billionaire-owned platforms.
If people create alternative economies, they don’t need Wall Street.
The solution isn’t more regulation and government dependence—that just shifts power from one feudal system to another. The solution is breaking free from feudal dependence altogether.
This is where the far-left progressives in the anti-Trump camp need to wake up. If you hate feudalism, you need to stop shitting on capitalism.
What Must Be Done
Stop Fighting the Wrong Battle – The threat isn’t fascism. It’s corporate feudalism. Stop pretending that electing Democrats will fix it. Feudalism doesn’t care who’s in office.
Build Economic Independence – The only real freedom is ownership. Own your work. Own your data. Own your platform. If you’re dependent on a billionaire’s system, you’re a serf.
Decentralize Everything – Media, commerce, banking, and communication must be pried from the hands of the ruling class. Support alternatives. Build alternatives.
Reject Feudal Obedience Culture – Stop treating billionaires, politicians, and tech moguls like kings. Stop begging them for approval. Stop relying on their systems to validate your existence.
Reclaim the Narrative – Feudalism is a con game. It works by convincing people to accept their place. The antidote is a culture that refuses to kneel.
Note: This is one of the key objectives of our New Resistance Roundtable initiative
The Endgame: Burn the Castle, Not Just the Throne
Feudalism doesn’t die when you overthrow the king. It dies when people stop believing in the system altogether. The key isn’t rebellion—it’s irrelevance. The new aristocracy collapses when people stop needing them.
So let them keep their castles. We’re building something better.
As I wrote in this Note, we must continue to try to dialogue with MAGA folks. Here are some “seeds of contemplation” questions to ask them:
How have you personally benefited from their policies and behaviors?
What has been the return on investment of your loyalty, donations, etc.?
Has your loyalty bought you access to new privileges or power?
But this prescription sounds like libertarianism-lite if not neo-liberalism. All you’re doing is parsing historical fascism from feudalism which is useful for definitional purposes, but it doesn’t support the conclusion that entrepreneurial endeavors are the singular solution to prevent feudalism from occurring. Entrepreneurialism has substantial barriers to entry. The brand of feudalism of which you speak will only increase those barriers to entry. The hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have or will lose their jobs aren’t going to be saved by entrepreneurialism. Capitalism as a system isn’t the enemy. Crony-capitalism and mafia style plutocracy is. Whatever means necessary to destroy those forms of capitalism should be employed and should not be denigrated as lesser forms of resistance over entrepreneurialism.
On. Fire.
And a very helpful pinpointing of the real issue. I myself have lamented how often I hear the word fascism thrown around, and it feels empty and ambiguous. This really names, the true challenge… And way forward… With timely clarity.