The Lockean proviso alone is sufficient reason to deny property claims.
If property claims are to be considered legitimate they must increase the general wellbeing, by definition, and so it is reasonable to have a mechanism whereby it is possible to prevent land (and perhaps other forms of property) ownership from being dominated by a small number of individuals. In the same sense that we are not able to own a person, even if willingly sold, so too are we unable to own an excess of land. If the land can be put to (much) better use by (a sample of) the rest of the population then it ceases to be owned by the original owner.
If land can be put to (much) better use by others, then it is rightly owned by them.
The land is owned by those whom can make the best use of it, at the price and it is not owned by someone who fails to do the same. If someone is not making good use of the land, from the perspective of those who might make better use of it then the land ceases to be owned by the incumbent occupant. The land is not owned by someone who is not making good use of the land.
Monday, 2 August 2010
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