Medieval Society Roles and Modern Corporate Equivalents
Far from a long time ago in a land far away…
…this maps neatly to corporate life today.
MEDIEVAL EUROPE HAD A DISTINCT SOCIAL STRUCTURE CALLED THE THREE ESTATES OR THE THREE ORDERS.
At the top of the hierarchy are the nobles: those who fight. Below them and sometimes intertwined you find the clergy: those who pray. At the bottom of the pecking order was the largest group, the peasants: those who work. Nobility, clergy, and peasantry, where everyone had their place by divine providence.
What was the nobility has evolved to be executives and management: those who boss. The largest group, the peasants, have moved up in the world to become employees: those who work. Some things never change. Leave behind the plow and the loom; pick up ye olde laptop and printer.
The church was a moderating force for more than a thousand years, smoothing the demands from the powerful on their subordinates, while still creating new demands, new tasks, new anxieties for the masses. This third group has become Human Resources: those who mean well.
CORPORATE LIFE TODAY REFLECTS THE DISTANT MEDIEVAL PAST:
~ Nobles morphed into executive leaders
~ Commoners moved up to become employees
~ Clergy was replaced by Human Resources
The three orders gave structure to society then, and they keep the wheels from coming off corporate life today. Within each of the estates there were many different roles, and so many of those also track to positions in modern organizations.
The structure of the three estates provided a framework for European society from the medieval period all the way to the French revolution. It provided stability during repeated upheavals by specifying the roles and responsibilities for each of the three orders.
This hierarchical structure was believed to reflect God's design, which justified the social order. It gave each individual a sense of purpose to do their part to keep it all going. Or it was a way for the top 10% to trick the bottom 90% into doing all the work while getting few rewards. Take your pick. Either way, corporate life today is a reflection of the medieval world.
THE MEDIEVAL WORLD OF WESTERN EUROPE IS A LOT LIKE THE MODERN AMERICAN CORPORATION.
Wait, wait; hear this out. There is hierarchy, strata from top to bottom. There are competing interests, within and among the layers.
There can be loyalty between friends and among frenemies. Often you find force and coercion to get underlings to fall in line with the leader. There are common beliefs that hold the system together. Somehow, it becomes an entity larger than its parts and just keeps on rolling.
FOUNDATIONS
