The Dynamics of Labour and the Overcoming of Feudalism: Internal Contradictions and Socioeconomic Transformations

Abstract

This article analyses the transformations within the feudal system in Western Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, focusing on the interplay of economic, social, and political dynamics. It highlights the decline of personal obligations and the shift from in-kind rents to monetary rents, driven by increasing peasant autonomy and the monetisation of the economy. Economic shifts, such as monetisation, reshaped feudal relations and set the stage for new modes of production. These changes destabilised the feudal order as inflation eroded the value of fixed tributes, leading to the fragmentation of the seigneurial domain. The rise of urban centres and market expansion accentuated internal contradictions, particularly between the productive forces (the tools, skills, and knowledge used in production) and production relations (the social relationships people enter into during the production process). These contradictions paved the way for the dissolution of feudal structures. Drawing on a Marxist perspective, this study underscores the centrality of class tensions and systemic contradictions in the transition towards a capitalist economy grounded in labour mobility and private property.