The New Dark Ages: The Employment (Peasant) Class

Sir Brian, a small land owner stepped out of his house to check on the work. “Giles,” he shouted. “Get that wagon packed. Success in the market depends on timely arrival.” Giles nodded.

He stepped over to Mary’s table where she was looking over the crop situation. She had to figure out what went to various overlords in taxes and tithe, what went to the owner, what got divided between the workers and what, if any, might be left over to save for the proverbial rainy day.

“It is barely enough to make ends meet,’ she said. Sir Brian smiled to encourage her. He knew it was barely enough.

He stepped to the field where the workers, tools in hand were hard at it. They looked up at him when he spoke. “Do a good job, people. We will need the winter harvest to make it to the other side of spring.

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Brian, a small business owner stepped out of his office to check on the work. “Giles,” he shouted. “Get that box packed. Success in the market depends on timely arrival.” Giles nodded.

He stepped over to Mary’s desk where she was looking over the financial situation. She had to figure out what went to various governments in taxes and regulatory fees, what went to the owner, what got divided between the workers, and what, if any, might be left over to save for the proverbial rainy day.

“It is barely enough to make ends meet,” she said. Brian smiled to encourage her. He knew it was barely enough.

He stepped to the room where the workers, tools in hand were hard at it. They looked up at him when he spoke. “Do a good job, people. We will need the Christmas sales to make it to the other side of spring.

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Welcome to the New Dark Ages.

The employee (peasant) class comes in many forms: middle and lower management, small business owners, merchants, accountants and bookkeepers and workers (not far from serfs). People need to work, and to be sure, some do well enough and perhaps very well. Most, though, just make a living, and many of them only if both spouses are working. Children are more on their own these days than ever – apart from the middle ages.

Some workers have to belong to unions – not unlike the guilds in the first dark ages. If you were not a member of the local but did that work, your property would be vandalized and threats would be made against your person and maybe even your family back then, too.

True, there is theoretically more movement these days. People are not tied to their companies the way they were tied to the land, but the truth is many feel they are tied, especially in poor economic times when they feel lucky to have a job. For those who do make a move, it is generally lateral movement and only some rare upward mobility. Auto mechanics, burger flipping, used car selling, assembly line work are all valid skills, but where can you really go with them?

These days, the better paying jobs require education, certification, even licensing that puts them out of reach of most people. While licenses and certifications might help protect the public from average cranks, it makes it hard to become a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or any profession. The cost of the education alone is prohibitive for most, so the numbers have not increased significantly for the population and it will not be long before certain professions will be lean or wanting in a variety of times and places, just like the first time the dark ages came around.

Yes, promotions still happen up to a point, but even in the first dark ages if a serf showed the right skills and some leadership qualities, they could get promoted out of the fields as well.

For our Dark Ages there are two things to consider which in some ways will make our Dark Ages worse that the first time around. They will have to wait until the next post, however, when we talk about the Beggars: the Permanent Underclass.


-Michael The Fiction Side:
The Storyteller http://mgkizzia.wordpress.com/
The Non-Fiction Side: Word & Spirit http://michaelkizzia.wordpress.com/