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50-822: The complex was built in 1934 as NS-Ordensburg Sonthofen by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF in short) for the NSDAP. Three NS-Ordensburgen existed: A fourth one ( Ordensburg Marienburg ) was planned at the historic Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork , in East Prussia (currently Poland ). It was designed by architect Hermann Giesler as a school for the education of elite Nazi military and party echelons. The internationally known actor Hardy Krüger attended this school. In

100-407: A small and powerful elite , a lack of social mobility , and relations of lordship and serfdom between the elite and the people, where the former are rich and the latter poor. Generally, the term neo-feudalism refers to 21st century forms of feudalism which in some respects resemble the societal models of Medieval western Europe . In its early use, the term was deployed as both a criticism of

150-519: A capitalist entity or a set of entities can get away with in the sphere of production and/or in the marketplace is deemed valid, legitimate, and normal, regardless of labour-time expenditures". As well, contra Marx, Bellemare's book argues that, in the dark age of TCF, "workers can be paid below subsistence levels", wherefore, they must now work a multiplicity of jobs and more hours in order to make ends meet, which, in many instances, they cannot do without social assistance. In turn, according to Bellemare, "in

200-517: A fee within the range of 15 Rpf. to 3  ℛ︁ℳ︁ , depending on the category a member fell into, on a large scale of 20 membership groups. A substantially large amount of income was raised through fees. In 1934, the total DAF revenue from fees was 300,000,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁. In US dollars, the annual income from dues to the Labour Front came to $ 160,000,000 in 1937 and $ 200,000,000 by 1939. There were two main components of

250-412: A higher-level of socio-economic existence, away from the workforce/population, whereby, it now appears invisible and increasingly distant from the everyday lives of workers, does not mean the old capitalist bourgeoisie has vanished into thin air, or has been usurped by a strictly technological aristocracy". According to Bellemare's article, "what has happened is that the old capitalist bourgeoisie has become

300-522: A major victory for the employers, backed by the Nazi leadership, who needed the co-operation of industry in their drive to rearm. Unlike the trade unions it had replaced, the DAF did not aim to be an organization representing the interests of workers alone; it also included employers and members of the professions, and defined itself as "the organization of creative Germans of brain and fist." The law establishing

350-454: A massive scale. In his books, Bluestein both criticizes this phenomenon, and proposes social and economic solutions for it. Being the first to coin the term: techno-capitalist-feudalism, or TCF for short, political economist, Michel Luc Bellemare, released a seminal tome on the subject, titled 'Techno-Capitalist-Feudalism', in early September 2020. Described as the political economy of Scientific Anarchist-Communism, or structural-anarchism, TCF

400-425: A techno-capitalist-feudal-aristocracy, since, the logic of capitalism, capitalist profit, and capitalist technological innovations continue to inform and motivate this authoritarian capitalist aristocracy and all its overlapping networks of large-scale ruling power-blocs". Thereby, the specter of capitalism haunts 'techno-feudalism', in the sense that 'techno-feudalism', or more accurately, 'techno-capitalist-feudalism',

450-405: A variety of ways". Lucia Zedner responds that this use of neo-feudalism is too limited in scope; Shearing's comparison does not draw parallels with earlier governance explicitly enough. Zedner prefers more definitive endorsements. Neo-feudalism entails an order defined by commercial interests and administered in large areas, according to Bruce Baker, who argues that this does not fully describe

500-442: Is "the degeneration of the old modern class-system into a post-modern micro-caste-system, wherein an insurmountable divide and stratum now exists in-between the "1 percent" and the "99 percent", or more specifically, the state-finance-corporate-aristocracy and the workforce/population. Moreover, according to Bellemare, in the dark age of techno-capitalist-feudalism, "the determination of values, prices, and wages are no longer based upon

550-410: Is a compilation of 15 years of economic research by the author, which began in the mid 2000s. According to Bellemare, in the book, "the epoch of techno-capitalist-feudalism is the epoch of totalitarian-capitalism, whereby the logic of capitalism attains totalitarian dimensions and authoritarian supremacy". One of the primary characteristics of the age of techno-capitalist-feudalism, according to Bellemare,

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600-504: Is a disservice to workers. To drop the term 'capitalist' from techno-capitalist-feudalism, "only muddies the clear blue waters of the terminal stage of capitalist development", namely, the new dawning epoch of totalitarian-capitalism, that is, the new dystopian dark age of techno-capitalist-feudalism, run-amok. As Bellemare states, in the article, "just because the old capitalist bourgeoisie has embraced digital algorithms and invasive surveillance technologies as its own, and abstracted itself at

650-624: Is set in the distant future with a neo-feudalistic galactic empire known as the Imperium. In these novels, after a series of wars known as the Butlerian Jihad humanity has come to prohibit all kinds of "thinking machine technology", even its simpler forms. Subsequently, the political balance of power in the Dune Universe gradually became dominant by a myriad of royal houses, each dominating one or several planets. Albeit operating in

700-432: Is that individuals' public lives are increasingly governed by business corporations, as Martha K. Huggins finds. John Braithwaite notes that neo-feudalism brings a different approach to governance since business corporations, in particular, have this specialized need for loss reduction. Author Jonathan Bluestein has written about neo-feudalism as a feature of social power: economic, political and martial alike. He defines

750-407: Is the result of "the capital/labor relationship at its most lopsided, oppressive, and technologically dominating. The capital/labor relationship continues to hold, since, the logic of capitalism continues to be the foundation and the fundamental under-girder of this new economic system". Therefore, within the evolutionary whimper of 'techno-feudalism', "the logic of capitalism is thriving, laughing all

800-540: The Associated Press in Berlin, Louis P. Lochner , ticket prices for ocean steamer vessels ranged from twelve to sixteen marks for "a full week on such a steamer". For those who desired vacations closer to home, the DAF constructed spa and summer resort complexes. The most ambitious was the 4.5 km long Prora complex on Rugen island, which was to have 20,000 beds, and would have been the largest beach resort in

850-567: The Beauty of Labour organization. To help Hitler keep his promise to have every German capable of owning an affordable car ( Volkswagen —the People's Car) the DAF subsidised the construction of an automobile factory, which was partially paid from workers' payroll deductions. None of the 340,000 workers who were paying for a car ever received one, since the factory had to be retooled for war production after Nazi Germany invaded Poland . DAF membership

900-454: The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for politicians and governments to change the world's economies, societies and structures of government, by introducing a system of "Stakeholder Capitalism", doing so via the guidelines of a plan known as ' The Great Reset '. Schwab also refers to his goals as " The Fourth Industrial Revolution ". Other authors have criticized The Great Reset as being

950-492: The Internet . In early September, 2022, Bellemare, has offered a short and direct critique of 'techno-feudalism', on the grounds that 'techno-feudalism' skews the facts and daily realities of workers, toiling under the jackboot of totalitarian-capitalism, or more accurately, the jackboot of "techno-capitalist-feudalism". According to Bellemare's article, using the term 'techno-feudalism', instead of “techno-capitalist-feudalism”

1000-424: The "workbook" system was introduced, which issued every worker with a workbook that recorded his skills and past employment. These workbooks were required for employment and they were kept by the employer; if a worker desired to quit his job, the employer could refuse to release his workbook, preventing the worker from being legally employed anywhere else. To compensate for these restrictions on wages and employment,

1050-574: The DAF sought to provide workers with leisure and entertainment. Robert Ley explained his policy as aiming to "divert the attention of the masses from material to moral values," as he believed that "it is more important to feed the souls of men than their stomachs." Thus, the DAF established the Strength Through Joy organisation, which provided factory libraries and concerts, swimming pools, adult education programmes, variety performances, theatre visits, athletic events, subsidized tickets to

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1100-427: The DAF stated that its aim was not to protect workers but "to create a true social and productive community of all Germans" and "to see that every single individual should be able to perform the maximum of work." The labour trustees, who had the power to set wages, in practice followed the wishes of employers and did not even consult the workers. There was also a mandate from Hitler to keep wages low, as he declared that

1150-716: The DAF: Several other sub-organizations were set up, including: The Front also organised the Reichsberufswettkampf , a national vocational competition. Notes Bibliography Final solution Parties Neo-feudalism Neo-feudalism or new feudalism is a theorized contemporary rebirth of policies of governance , economy , and public life, reminiscent of those which were present in many feudal societies. Such aspects include, but are not limited to: Unequal rights and legal protections for common people and for nobility, dominance of societies by

1200-639: The Emmich-Cambrai-Kaserne in Hannover. Two other bases were then closed and their personnel moved to Sonthofen. Today the facility is protected as a historic site. [REDACTED] Media related to Ordensburg Sonthofen at Wikimedia Commons 47°30′22″N 10°17′10″E  /  47.506°N 10.286°E  / 47.506; 10.286 German Labour Front The German Labour Front ( German : Deutsche Arbeitsfront , pronounced [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaʁbaɪtsfʁɔnt] ; DAF)

1250-974: The Icelandic billionaire Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson . The idea that the early 21st century boom and bust in Iceland saw the country returning to feudal structures of power was also expressed by a range of Icelandic novelists, among them Sigrún Davíðsdóttir in Samhengi hlutanna , Bjarni Bjarnason in Mannorð , Bjarni Harðarson in Sigurðar saga fóts , Böðvar Guðmundsson in Töfrahöllin , and Steinar Bragi in Hálendið: Skáldsaga . Similar ideas are found in some Anglophone fiction. For example, Frank Herbert 's Dune series of novels

1300-668: The Nazis. The German Labour Front (DAF) was then created in May 1933 as the organization that was to take over the assets seized from the former trade unions. Robert Ley , who had no previous experience in labour relations, was appointed by Hitler to lead the DAF upon its creation. Three weeks later, Hitler issued a decree that banned collective bargaining and stated that a group of labour trustees, appointed by him, would "regulate labour contracts" and maintain "labour peace." This decree effectively outlawed strikes , since workers could not oppose

1350-494: The behaviour of markets as they see fit. Taking the example of massive online enterprises such as Facebook , Amazon and others, Varoufakis noted that such venues are primarily governed by the whims of single individuals and small teams, and thus are not truly capitalist markets of free trade, but rather feudal markets of stringent control. Others, such as Jeremy Pitt, have raised similar opinions and concerns, also noting that techno-feudalism threatens freedom of information over

1400-405: The capitalist oligarchy or the 1 percent, concerns itself first and foremost with the accumulation of power, control, and capital, as well as, reproducing hierarchical-stasis by any means necessary". As a result, for Bellemare, in the dark age of TCF, "the capitalist aristocracy does not seek to steal units of unpaid labor-time from workers, but rather, it seeks to influence and control all aspects of

1450-504: The cost of individualism and privacy. The widening of the wealth gap , as poor and marginalized people are excluded from the state's provision of security, can result in neo-feudalism, argues Marina Caparini, who says this has already happened in South Africa . Neo-feudalism is made possible by the commodification of policing, and signifies the end of shared citizenship, says Ian Loader. A primary characteristic of neo-feudalism

1500-430: The course of the years 2020-2021, Yanis Varoufakis has written and lectured much about his theory concerning neo-feudalism. He posits that traditional capitalism has evolved into a new feudal-like structure of economies and societies, which he refers to as 'techno-feudalism'. Varoufakis explains that unlike in capitalism, feudal economies have the quality of being dominated by very small groups of people, and predetermine

1550-418: The dark age of TCF, most machine-technologies are capitalist in origin, meaning, these technologies are congealed power-relations and/or ideologies that are impregnated and programmed with capitalist biases". That is, a set of specific biases that maintain, reproduce, and expand, the power of the ruling capitalist relations and ideologies, undergirding the overall system. Thereby, according to Bellemare's book, in

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1600-450: The decisions of the trustees. Meanwhile, Robert Ley promised "to restore absolute leadership to the natural leader of a factory—that is, the employer... Only the employer can decide." The leadership of the DAF stressed that there was no need for antagonism between workers and employers in the new Nazi state. To underline this, its laws were couched in a neo-feudal language of reciprocity. This new system of industrial relations represented

1650-599: The distant future, the social and political dynamics of said royal houses are similar in many respects to those previously seen in medieval times. In David Brin 's near-future science fiction novel Existence , American politicians campaign on legally transitioning the United States into a neo-feudalist society. In the year 2020, head of the World Economic Forum , Klaus Schwab published a book titled COVID-19: The Great Reset . The book argues that

1700-426: The dystopian age of TCF, "most capitalist machine-technologies are used to maintain, reproduce, and expand, the divisions in-between the '1 percent' and the '99 percent', by keeping the '99 percent' predominantly bolted-down upon the lower-stratums of the system, all the while, keeping the '1 percent' perched atop the upper-stratums of the system, indefinitely. In sum, in the dark age of TCF, the new aristocracy, that is,

1750-644: The extent of cooperation between state and non-state policing. The significance of the comparison to feudalism, for Randy Lippert and Daniel O'Connor, is that corporations have power similar to states' governance powers. Similarly, Sighard Neckel has argued that the rise of financial-market-based capitalism in the later twentieth century has represented a 'refeudalisation' of the economy. Substackers such as Neoliberal Feudalism argue that trends toward neo-feudalism are both intentionally planned by international financial elites as well as naturally occurring due to long-term trends toward increased centralization and control at

1800-497: The hourly wage should remain the same and workers should only be able to earn more through increased productivity. Although Germany experienced an economic recovery throughout the 1930s and employment greatly increased, wages remained as low as they had been during the Great Depression, and sometimes even lower. The DAF also gave employers the ability to prevent their workers from seeking different jobs. In February 1935,

1850-433: The idea of neo-feudalism in contemporary society, are: class stratification , globalization , neoconservative foreign policy, multinational corporations , and " neo-corporatism ". According to Les Johnston, Clifford Shearing's theoretical approach of neo-feudalism has been influential. Shearing "use[s] this term in a limited sense to draw attention to the emergence of domains of mass private property that are 'gated' in

1900-436: The idea of neo-feudalism. Correspondingly, in 1992 Immanuel Wallerstein expressed views on global development, listing neo-feudalism among three other variants. By neo-feudalism , Wallerstein referred to autarky regions with a localised hierarchy and hi-tech goods available only for the elite. The concept of neo-feudalism may focus on economics, though it is not limited to it. Among the issues claimed to be associated with

1950-757: The last year of the war it was used as a servicemen's hospital. Commander of the Ordensburg was, from 1936 to 1941, Robert Bauer, an Old Fighter of the Nazi party and member of the Reichstag since 1933. After the war French troops first took over the Castle. Later the US Army located the training center for the United States Constabulary force there. From May 1951 through February 1952,

2000-466: The neo-feudal sovereigns as those who, while not directly referred to as lords, aristocrats, kings or emperors, still hold an equivalent power in a modern sense. That is, people who are not subject to everyday laws, can create their own laws to an extent, dominate large markets, employ immense swathes of individuals, have the means to hold a private military force, wield the economic might equivalent of entire nations, and own assets, especially real-estate, on

2050-439: The old Marxist notion of socially necessary labor-time, but rather upon the arbitrary use of force and influence, namely, through an underlying set of ruling capitalist power-relations and/or ideologies, which impose by force and influence, numeric values, prices, and wage-sums upon goods, services, and people, devoid of any considerations pertaining to labor-time". Ultimately, in the dark age of techno-capitalist-feudalism, "whatever

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2100-410: The opera, and subsidised vacations with a focus on cruises . The number of people taking holiday cruises went from 2.3 million in 1934 to 10.3 million in 1938. The DAF financed the building of ocean-going vessels that permitted German workers to pay minimal prices to sail to many foreign destinations. Up to six ocean liners were operating just before the start of World War II. According to the chief of

2150-638: The police ignored these attacks and declared itself without jurisdiction. These early attacks occurred at random, carried out spontaneously by rank-and-file Nazis motivated by a desire to destroy Marxism, and the Nazi Party leadership only implemented a general policy in May. On 2 May, 1933, trade union headquarters throughout Germany were occupied, their funds were confiscated, and the unions were officially abolished and their leaders arrested. Many union leaders were beaten and sent to concentration camps , including some who had previously agreed to cooperate with

2200-557: The political Left and of the Right . On the other hand, Jürgen Habermas used the term Refeudalisierung (" refeudalisation ") in his 1962 The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere to criticise the privatisation of the forms of communication that he believed had produced an Enlightenment -era public sphere . While not talking about "neo-feudalism" as such, later commentators have noted that these ideas are similar to

2250-471: The way to the bank, as the term 'techno-feudalism' only empowers capitalist supremacy at the expense of workers’ liberation and self-management". After the financial crisis of 2007–2008 , American technology billionaire Nick Hanauer stated that "our country [i.e. the United States ] is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society". His views were echoed by, amongst others,

2300-479: The workers' everyday lives". Thus, the accumulation of power, control, and capital, orchestrated by the 1 percent, their corporations, and the State, "is always at the expense of the workforce/population, which itself, is gradually impoverished, disempowered, and continually relegated to the margins of the system, namely, the margins of the techno-capitalist-feudal-edifice, as lowly wage-serfs and/or debt-serfs". During

2350-478: The world. It was never completed and the massive complex largely remained an empty shell right through until the 21st century. The DAF was one of the largest Nazi organizations, boasting of over 35,000 full-time employees by 1939. It operated one of the largest financial institutions—the Bank of German Labour—as well as various workplace programmes such as medical screening, occupational training, legal assistance and

2400-686: Was the national labour organization of the Nazi Party , which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during the process of Gleichschaltung or Nazification. As early as March 1933, two months after Hitler was appointed Chancellor , the Sturmabteilung began to attack trade union offices without legal consequences. Several union offices were occupied, their furnishings were destroyed, their documents were stolen or burned, and union members were beaten and in some cases killed;

2450-451: Was theoretically voluntary, but any workers in any area of German commerce or industry would have found it hard to get a job without being a member. Furthermore, many unemployed people were drafted into the Labour Front where they were given uniforms and tools and put to work; the disappearance of unemployed people from the streets contributed to the perception that the Nazis were improving the economic conditions of Germany. Membership required

2500-675: Was used by the United States Air Force in Europe as a basic training center, In 1956 the Castle was acquired by the Bundeswehr and was named after the member of resistance and former chief of the general staff of the army Colonel General Ludwig Beck . The Generaloberst-Beck-Kaserne hosted schools of the Bundeswehr (Military Police ( Feldjäger ) and Staff Service). In 2009 the Bundeswehr transferred these schools to

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