You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
The Estates of the Realm were broad social categories in medieval and early modern Europe. The number of estates varied from country to country: in England there were two (lords/clergy and commoners); in France there were three (lords and clergy being considered separate estates); in other countries there were four (the commons being divided into burghers and non-noble landowners). ITTL the history of political development in the west is changed such that the estates continue to form the basis for parliamentary* representation, each person belonging to one estate and each house of parliament being made up of representatives from one estate. Obviously the system would change over time to reflect changing circumstances (e.g., improved social mobility making it easier to move from one estate to another), but the basic idea of using the estates as the basis of political representation remains. How would the political culture of such a world differ from OTL's? For one thing, I guess it'd be more corporatist and less individualist in structure and outlook, but I'm not sure what effects this might have overall.
(* Or congressional etc. for countries that call their legislatures different names, but I'll just call it "parliamentary" for ease of reference.)