[Eric in the Ozarks]

No feudalism in Sweden ?
My great grandfather left precisely to get away from the sharecropper/indentured servitude system that he was trapped in at the turn of the 19th century. After working for himself and saving every cent for three years in the US, he was able to send for his wife and daughter in 1905, essentially 'buying' their way out of Sweden. More than a few Swedes from that era did the same. They wanted independence, private property and to get away from the 'communitarianism' which was, in fact, Nordic classism.

[WesternCulture]

- Thanks for posting.

Do you happen to know if your great grandfather was a “statare”?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statare

Translation of the Swedish Wikipedia article performed by translate.google.com:

http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=sv&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsv.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStatare&sl=sv&tl=en&history_state0=

I can easily see why many regard this system to be close to Feudalism.

On the other hand, in a genuinely Feudal society the peasant is more or less a slave. In Russia, the aristocrats used their peasants for stakes in gambling. You can't compare that kind of Feudalism to Sweden in the beginning of the 20th century.

I get your point, but perhaps we could agree that being poor and economically dependent on someone else does not equal being a victim of traditional Feudalism.

In any case, what your great grandfaher did is admirable.

I sincerely hope you're not getting me wrong.