|
PREDOMINANT
ARRANGEMENTS |
MEDIEVAL |
MODERN |
|
Economic System |
Feudalism
|
Capitalism
|
|
Economic Ideal |
Self-sufficiency |
Favorable balance of trade |
|
Political |
Feudalism |
Nation-States |
|
Social |
- Feudalism
- Three Estates/Orders
|
- Bourgeois Dominance
- Class position linked to economic position
|
|
Role of cities and towns |
Exceptions to the rules |
Center of public life
- Political
- Social
- Economic
|
|
Religion |
THE Church
- Unified institution over all countries
- Definer and determiner of faith throughout Europe
- Rival of governments for power
|
No one church
- Denominational differences
- Among countries
- Within countries
- National churches
- Diversity of beliefs
- Increasing separation of church and state
|
|
Intellectual |
- Ultimate reality defined by the church
- Limited education and literacy
- Limited distribution of information
|
- Multiple definers of reality
- Religion
- Reason
- Science increasingly prevalent
- Increasing spread of literacy and education
- Printing and expanded commerce make widespread dissemination of information possible
- Knowledge of other countries and cultures provides alternatives
|
|
Relations to the rest of the world |
- Relatively isolated
- Religious crusades
|
|