There's an important difference between classical feudalism and modern feudalism: The classical feudal nobility was just as much tied to the land as the peasants were. Yes, there was a strong asymmetry of power, but the feudal lord offered an important benefit over no feudal lord: He was extracting his rent from the same peasants and the same land year after year, so he had an interest in keeping them a viable going concern (as opposed to passing marauders and mercenary armies who had no lasting interest in the lands they pillaged).

Transnational corporations today are not tied to any particular workforce, country, capital plant or anything else that gives them comparable interest in maintaining society as a going concern. That can change virtually overnight if the guys with the guns decide to change it, of course, but so far the guys with the guns seem to like the looting and pillaging that results from purely mercenary transnationals.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.