I know, it’s not exactly the best way to measure where you stand politically but I’m just curious what your results are.
I score far left on the economical scale (almost hitting the edge) and about two squares from the center into the authoritarian quarter.
I do agree. But it doesn’t feel like it’s a pre-capitalist feudal system, or a proto-capitalist one. It feels more like a post-capitalist feudal system. The structures of capitalism are there, but shifted in a way to favour the rentier class much more, to the point they became new feudal lords. Very similar to what is happening right now.
Sure, commodity production is not the center of the economy, it’s rent seeking. But still the rulers are descendants of a hyper capitalist class that came to own everything and with hyper-monopoly came rent seeking. I would argue something like the Spacing Guild to be an evolution of what Amazon could become if left unchecked to completely monopolize “the internet” and logistics.
We don’t have any indication of pre-jihad times in Frank works. Though both Brian version and Dune Encyclopedia point on kind of post-scarcity economy with huge role of AI. Brian also inserts the periods of Titan oligarchy and then Synchronised Worlds and Noble League between that and the Jihad. None of those were capitalist. So it wouldn’t be correct to call this “post capitalist”, rather the Empire was either the direct consequence of fall of the post-scarcity civilisation or direct continuation of Noble League (which was itself consequence of fall of the previous civilisation).
Again, no info from Frank except Houses Corrino, Atreides and Harkonnen being directly descended from victors of Jihad - so not looking like the hypercapitalist but more like warlords. In Brian version empire aristocracy directly come from the Butlerian warlords that tore down whatever was before (look above) and League aristocracy. Only huge capitalist venture was VenKee corporation which was direct predecessor of Spacing Guild, but the Guild came to life as direct result of VenKee being smashed and transformed from a capitalist venture into the literal Guild.
Other way. Sure, that Amazon (VenKee) did aimed at domination over the empire but lost and was forcibly cut down to become Guild in nearly medieval sense of the word. Also had Norma Cenva as its real head who predicted a lot of future and was one of proponents of the new deal that is the Great Convention.