Sunday, 4 August 2013
We have a right to land if there is enough of it
The 'problem' with Capitalism is that without land we must beat the market to survive. Every profit that we make is at the cost of someone else... the harder we work the more inexpensive our products become and the more difficult it is for new market entrants. This is not a problem in itself apart from the reality that we are hurting other people. It is a paradox in a collaborative society that we would need to put someone else at a disadvantage merely to survive ourselves. This means we are not working together as a species. The solution to this apparent paradox of Capitalism is that we have sufficient land for everyone. Since no one is now (in the modern era) dying of starvation it is clear that we have sufficient land for everyone (assuming that this fact doesn't rely on the efficiencies derived from large-scale farms). This means that there is enough land for people to provide for themselves without needing to put a cost on the market by going to work in the traditional (competitive) sense. We do not need to hurt other people if we can make a living on our own from the land. The 'greed' paradox of Capitalism can be resolved by making sure that everyone has sufficient access to land and since there is demonstrably sufficient land for everyone... this is possible. If there is enough land (as there clearly is) then everyone has a right to at least some of it sufficient that they are able to sustain themselves. We have a right to land if there is enough of it. If there is not enough of it then we are left to fend for ourselves in an uncivilised manner but this has rarely if ever been the case.
Friday, 2 August 2013
Only farmers have a right to work
If you have enough land to support yourself then it is possible to survive by yourself doing work 'against' nature. There is no transaction with another human being... you do not need to interact with the market you merely need to do well as a farmer and you will have enough to eat. In all other cases we require the consent of another person to survive. This means that in a sense we are begging to eat when we are not able to farm our own land. We only have a right to work if we have our own land in all other cases we require the consent of another person and they have the right to withdraw their demand for our labour. We do not have a right to work (unless we have land) because everyone has the right not to pay for our work.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Georgists only will survive technology
Unless we have our own farm the only way to survive is to sell our labour. But with the perpetual improvement in technology this will become increasingly difficult as our economic needs will be taken care of by robots. The technological developments will also make it easier for people to become farmers (they will require less land and less sunlight) but the fact remains that robots will make survival practically impossible for non-farmers in the not-too-distant future. The sole remedy to this situation to prevent widespread starvation in the technological future will be the introduction of political Georgism. Georgism involves the sharing of land which is our natural birthright. Georgism recognises the fact that what is in nature is shared by all of us since it was created by no one living. To 'defeat' the robots and prevent them from causing widespread starvation we will need to share the land... as we should have been doing already. The development of technology will require the introduction of political Georgism.
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
What is neo-feudalism?
"Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour."
In a feudal system the serfs are able to gain access to the land only in return for their labour. Their natural birthright which is a share of the ownership of the land is denied to them to the advantage of the 'Lord of the Manor' who is able to exploit their work. This arrangement is clearly arbitrary and beneficial only to the minority. Neo-feudalism is a modern version of this but with the distinction that the arrangement is not recognised in law. We have a modern version of feudalism as a result of a legal system which fails to reflect our natural land entitlements. Because the law (presently) fails to recognise the importance of access to land a system of feudalism can arise without it being directly imposed by the legislature.
In a feudal system the serfs are able to gain access to the land only in return for their labour. Their natural birthright which is a share of the ownership of the land is denied to them to the advantage of the 'Lord of the Manor' who is able to exploit their work. This arrangement is clearly arbitrary and beneficial only to the minority. Neo-feudalism is a modern version of this but with the distinction that the arrangement is not recognised in law. We have a modern version of feudalism as a result of a legal system which fails to reflect our natural land entitlements. Because the law (presently) fails to recognise the importance of access to land a system of feudalism can arise without it being directly imposed by the legislature.
Definition of house banking
We are familiar with the concept of land banking whereby a person holds land not for its use but in the hope that it will serve as a good investment. They own the asset (in this case land) not because they need it for any particular purpose - even to utilise in business - but instead for its resale value. They hold the land because they can use it to raise funds (liquidity) at a later date. The same can be true of house banking whereby a person owns a house not entirely to use it for living but instead so that they will be able to sell it to other people in the future. This means that the house is not being fully utilised to its best potential and people in the economy who would be able to derive good use from it are being denied. Ideally people should only take the amount of housing they require and perhaps a bit extra for comfort. They should not seek to own as much of the housing stock as possible because then other people are being denied the ability to live in their own home.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
The future will be difficult for people without land
If you have land you will be immune from the problems of the increasing automation of labour. But if you do not have land then because of the advancement of technology it is possible that you will not be able to find a job. (Only people with their own land will be certain to be able to make an income.) For you then the political arrangement known as Capitalism doesn't work because the robots have replaced your only commodity. The robots will destroy Capitalism for those who do not have their own land. Capitalism in the traditional sense (in contrast to Agriculturalism) requires people being able to sell their labour which means that the advancement of technology will put an end to Capitalism in this form. There will be no capitalist jobs because of the robots. Only farmers will survive in the future.
Monday, 24 June 2013
The singularity isn't a problem for people with land
For people with land the coming 'singularity' of technology is something there is no reason to fear. But for those without land the singularity will perhaps be bad news because it will put them out of work without the means to sustain themselves. The singularity will be bad news for workers who will find it increasingly hard to stay in work... because their work will now be being done by robots. For those with land there is nothing to fear in the singularity.
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