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Like the last one, c 500AD to 1000AD, a period where writing declined, Arts declined, the number of super rich almost disappeared while the size of the poor grew to almost equal the size of people of wealth.
Yes, the size of poor people INCREASED during the Dark Ages (Reflecting access to more and better food). If you truly study the "Dark Ages" you will find out that the bottom half of the population did much better while the top 5% almost disappears. In the ancient world (and definitely during the Roman Empire) communications among the poorer classes was almost unheard of (they did exists but rare). Most poor people could not read of write doing both periods but HOW society valued the poor differentiated greatly. For example the Water wheel (Which helped poor people be more productive) took almost the whole history of the Roman Empire (c200BC to c500AD)to go from the Mid-east to Western Europe, while the Iron Furnace took Europe by Storm in the 600s (After taking almost 600 years to reach Europe from China).
This difference in the speed of the spread of each reflect the values of both societies, if it helped the wealthy elite it spread rapidly in the Roman Empire, but if it helped the poor it spread was slow. In the Dark Ages the opposite was true, if it helped the people the invention spread rapidly, but if it helped the Rich, more and more people cared less and less for it throughout the Dark Ages.
This can be seen in some other inventions of the Dark Ages. For example the Iron plow which was in use in Modern Turkey about 200 AD, when it was introduced to the Ukraine about 600 AD it spread rapidly through out Europe (Reaching France from Germany and Poland NOT via Italy and Greece). The Iron horseshoe, the Horse Collar, the ball-bearing, the Stirrup and Hay made horses a true means of transportation (supplanting and in many cases replacing Oxen). Yes, Ancient Rome did not have Hay, nor candles, nor soap, nor barrels nor tubs (All dark ages inventions). The inventions of the Dark ages are only surpassed by the inventions of the last 200 years, but inventions that helped people who were working as opposed to people who were ruling. Even better knowledge of plants started in the Dark ages (For example the trimming of vines to produce more grapes in the following year, first done in the Dark ages and spread by the Monks who first practiced this domestic "Art").
Yes, the inventions of the Middle Ages ENHANCED the working class, and spread rapidly. The Dark Ages are called the Dark Ages for intellectual pursuits were in Decline. You were valued more for what you did for your community or group than what you did for yourself (thus the high religious orientation of the time period, tied in with biblical rule to help the poor and the less fortunate).
The reason for this spread? (and lack of spread during Roman times?). The freeing of control of the Church (the main mean of Data Information distribution before the Printing Press) and related information Distribution systems from the control of the Roman Elite. Recent research even indicated this lost of Control by the Roman Elite even spread into the Eastern Empire (which remained under the "Roman Empire" Control throughout the Dark Ages). With this lost of control (and a policy of spreading information that helped people) people where free to spread information on how to make things, on how to build things, on how to transport things. These "Arts and Sciences" do not have the glamor of the true Arts but produce more "Wealth" for the working class than all of the Arts and Science of the Ancient world.
I suspect the same in the upcoming "Dark Ages", the powers that be will slowly lose control. People will group together to protect themselves from others AND TO PUSH FOR THEIR RIGHTS. Fears of Foreign Invasions (and terrorists) will be used to control but as these are show to be false fears people will stop reacting to them and assert THEIR RIGHTS.
In the Dark Ages it was the rights of the Common Man that expanded (You still had slavery but it was rare, but Slavery exists to this day so the existence of a slave or two proves nothing, for it was the general improvement of the Working Class that was the product of the Dark Ages not that everyone improved).
As to the barbarian invasions, close examinations of them show that most of them (if not ALL of them) were the product of INVITATIONS by the power elite of Rome so they could be used to suppress the peasants
Those that were NOT invited by the elite, seems to have been either invited by representatives of the Peasants (as in the Arabs Conquest of Egypt and maybe even the Lombard Invasion of Italy, c570 AD) or able to enhance they strength by recruiting from the Roman Pleasantry (as did the Goths as they march through Italy c400 AD).
Now some of these invitations backfired (For example the invitation of the Vandals into Modern Tunisia which lead to the Vandals conquering Tunisia and using it as a base to attack Rome in 450 AD). Now many of the invasions had elements of both support by the peasants AND the elite (For example while the Vandals had been invited into Tunisia by the Roman Elite to help in War over who should be the Roman Emperor, once the Vandals were in Tunisia they merged with the Peasants and did radical land reforms as the Peasants wanted but the Roman Elites did not).
The Dark Ages are a complex time period, it is a time period where control by force ceased. Control could only be kept by want or need. When force was used it only tended to survive a generation or two than collapse. Example of this are the Roman Re-conquest of Italy under Justinian, which was done about 550 but lost to the Lombards in 570. The Roman Re-conquest of Tunisia (c530) was earlier and lost later (c650), but more complete for within 100 years of Tunisia's conquest by the Arabs almost no one was still a Christian (Which compared to Egypt, which was Conquered by the Arabs almost 20 years earlier than Tunisia, but would remain majority Christian till the Crusades c1200 AD).
The same of the upcoming "Dark Ages" we will organize ourselves as needed and as we want but with little or no force. Arts will decline, Basic Science will decline (Through arts and Science that enhances livability of the masses will survive and spread rapidly). I see the net surviving, through most Governments will fall. Corporations will also fall for without Governments to protect them (Both from the workers AND other Corporations) Corporations can NOT survive. I do NOT foresee Chaos, or lost of Order, we will organize ourselves on as as-needed basis. New Governments will form (For Example Dark Age Italy broke up into City-States that could protect themselves and their members). Relationships between levels of Governments will become "Feudal" in the sense that people's loyalty will be to their community NOT to their State or Nation. People will continue to recognize certain obligations to higher governmental formation but when conflict between those higher formation and their local Community, it will be the local Community that will prevail (You will even see situations where a Local Community goes to war against the nation it is in allied with a "Foreign Nation", just like what happened during the Dark ages and the Middle Ages, for example when England wared with France during the Hundred Year War, Burgundy, a province of France was allied with England against France AND SUCH AN ALLIANCE WAS NOT VIEWED AS TREASON BY ANY OF THE THREE).
In sum a major change from today's top to bottom formation of Society, a change that is needed to reduce the power of today's elite. There will be costs incurred by this change but the gains from the changes will be greater than the losses.
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