Can Marxist Theory Predict “Thrones”?
That’s the question Paul Mason poses in this Guardian piece. The analysis is a little blunt: feudalism bad, capitalism good (until it withers away, of course). But you decide: ‘If you apply historical materialism to Westeros, the plot of season five and six becomes possible to predict. What happened with feudalism, when kings found themselves in hock to bankers, is that – at first – they tried to sort it out with naked power. The real-life Edward III had his Italian bankers locked up in the Tower of London until they waived his debts. But eventually the power of commerce began to squash the power of kings. Feudalism gave way to a capitalism based on merchants, bankers, colonial plunder and the slave trade. Paper money emerged, as did a complex banking system for assuaging problems like your gold mine running dry. But for this to happen you need the rule of law.’
