As a preface, I want to make it clear that I am not saying that Feudalism should be practiced in the modern day. Not only would it be self-sabotage to
practice a primitive system in a modern world, but Feudalism was a system made for a world where wealth was tied to land, which is no longer the case.
I prefer Fascism to any other ideology.
The common conception of Feudalism is Enlightenment-era propaganda. Most people believe that Feudalism was a system wherein the masses would be forced
to toil for lords for all of their lives because they were born to a certain bloodline or whatever. In reality, Feudalism took many different forms
throughout history, to the point that some question if it even makes
sense to group those systems under the Feudal umbrella.
How Feudalism actually worked
Like I mentioned, Feudalism was practiced in many different ways. Unlike systems like Capitalism or Communism, it doesn't have any ideological roots,
rather European systems made themselves feudal due to the necessities of the time, hence it has no concrete structure.
Generally speaking, lords (knights) gave fiefs (contracts where land is given by a lord to a serf and protection is promised by the lord) in exchange for
something (typically either agreeing to maintain the land or agreeing to participate in the military when needed).
How Feudalism compares to Capitalism
An English peasant would on average work 2-3 days per week, with an extra 10-20 days every year for harvesting plants. Meaning that if people toiled
endlessly under Feudalism as it is often portrayed, then our "free" system must be absolutely hellish.
And under Capitalism, no one is guaranteed secure housing or protection from landowners.
Why Feudalism is demonized
Feudalism is demonized for the same reason that every side of history that lost is now demonized (except in some cases where the losers were the only
ones who knew how to write, and therefore dictated the future perception around themselves). Monarchies were succeeded by republics and individualistic
governments who portrayed themselves as liberators and their opponents as oppressors, as most states tend to do.
