futile, feudal

Futile or futile means useless or pointless; having no effect--
Every attempt to make this work has been futile.
He smiled in a futile attempt to calm the angry woman.

Feudal or feudal describes the social, political and economic system of the Middle Ages ( 1500-500 years ago )--
In a feudal society, everyone but the king was a vassal of someone else.
The power structure in some modern corporations is similar to a medieval feudal system.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"All attempts to modernize the feudal system were futile."

Note--"feudalism" is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "feudal"--
Tenant farming was similar to feudalism.
The power structure of feudalism made a pyramid.

Note # 2--"futility" is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "futile"--
This meeting has been an exercise in futility.