The advantage of land over other assets is that with land we can grow our own food and survive independently. But that is all (it does not give us access to any other part of the economy... food is not necessarily that valuable). Subsistence farmers are often poor.
All other types of sustenance rely on employment... either by a boss (or manager) directly or if we have a business by our customers. In either case we can be replaced by technology. Technology is a threat to every employee and business owner and so only if we have our own land can we be immune from (replacement by) technology. (We can be self-employed if we have our own land.) But that doesn't mean there is anything to celebrate in the ownership of land... we might not be rich. All that is guaranteed by land is a basic level of sustenance. It doesn't mean that we will be able to afford anything which is happening outside of our local farming economy. The subsistence farmer does not have much to offer the wider economy apart from excess food.
There is nothing to particularly celebrate in having our own land... it is an insurance option against unemployability but not much more than that.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
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