2 + 2 = 4

• 20111122

  Progress and Poverty by Henry George

  via: gemmaseymour:

  Book VII, Chapter 1: The Injustice of Private Property in Land

  A house and the lot on which it stands are alike property, as being the subject of ownership, and are alike classed by the lawyers as real estate. Yet in nature and relations they differ widely. The one is produced by human labor, and belongs to the class in political economy styled wealth. The other is a part of nature, and belongs to the class in political economy styled land.
  

  The essential character of the one class of things is that they embody labor, are brought into being by human exertion, their existence or non-existence, their increase or diminution, depending on man. The essential character of the other class of things is that they do not embody labor, and exist irrespective of human exertion and irrespective of man; they are the field or environment in which man finds himself; the storehouse from which his needs must be supplied, the raw material upon which and the forces with which alone his labor can act.

  The moment this distinction is realized, that moment is it seen that the sanction which natural justice gives to one species of property is denied to the other; that the rightfulness which attaches to individual property in the produce of labor implies the wrongfulness of individual property in land; that, whereas the recognition of the one places all men upon equal terms, securing to each the due reward of his labor, the recognition of the other is the denial of the equal rights of men, permitting those who do not labor to take the natural reward of those who do.

  Whatever may be said for the institution of private property in land, it is therefore plain that it cannot be defended on the score of justice.

  The equal right of all men to the use of land is as clear as their equal right to breathe the air—it is a right proclaimed by the fact of their existence. For we cannot suppose that some men have a right to be in this world and others no right.

  (Source: gcvsa)

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking 

• 20110918

  Why Land Rent Will Save The World

  

  Land rent is the rental value of bare land (not the buildings etc.) A rational government would charge land rent instead of tax. With land rent, there are no hidden taxes: you know exactly what each government costs each person. So voting will have a clear price, just like buying any other product or service. Price competition will become intense. This allows blocks of voters to make deals. Voting blocks become more powerful than governments. As the system matures, voting blocks will become expert at creating towns and villages tailored to their needs. In effect, everyone will be able to choose the government they want. Or set up a new one, just you would set up any business. When everyone can choose their own ideal community we will all live among like minded people and be happier. Crime becomes impossible: everyone trusts the authorities and welcomes surveillance. If trust is abused, you simply choose a different government. Or make your own.

  Why Land Rent Will Save The World
  
  (An unfortunate plea for statist action. Noted for economic analysis of land.)

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking 

• 20110912

  Economics in Six Minutes

  

  Karl Marx thought labor creates all value and get exploited when they don’t get the whole value, but the Austrian economist Carl Manger said no, values are subjective. American economist Henry George said the surplus is rent, so tax that, and have free trade. Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises said pure socialism would be hopelessly inefficient, and government intervention makes the economy worse. Friedrich Hayek said so too, because knowledge is decentralized, so just let the spontaneous market order work. John Maynard Keynes in Great Britain thought government should make and spend money during depressions, but New Classical economists point out that when people expect inflation, government stimulus just raises prices. Milton Friedman in the USA says don’t try to manipulate the money, and let folks choose for themselves. The bottom line to all this is that economic freedom leads to the most prosperity. Don’t restrict labor and capital other than to prevent coercive harm to others. Don’t tax labor or enterprise. Get public revenues from rent and pollution fees. Let the market handle the money and banking. True free trade and enterprise are good; decentralized and market-based governance works best. As Henry George said, economics and ethics are one. The environment and the economy are one. Good governance and economics are one. Share rent, charge for damage, don’t steal wages. That’s economics in six minutes, and the path to prosperity.

  Economics in Six Minutes by Fred E. Foldvary

  (Illustration via)

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking  ''capitalism'' 

• 20110524

  Capitalism: A Brilliantly Confused Story

  The term “capitalism” has been the most successful propaganda term in human history. …the term “capital” masks the underlying and more fundamental interest that receives governmental privileges: real estate, and more specifically, the big landowners. If you want to understand the economic policies of governments world-wide, and the main cause of social problems, it becomes clearer if you grasp this proposition: The main purpose of government is to serve the big landed interests. …the biggest subsidy to landowners is implicit: it is the enormous increase in land rent and land value due to the public goods provided by government. Streets, parks, security, schooling, transit, etc., all make land more attractive and productive. The rich pay high taxes, but they get it back, and often much more, in higher land value. Taxes fall most heavily on the middle class, as the state tax-confiscates about half the wages of a typical worker, including the taxes the pay when from their remaining wages they buy taxed goods.

  Land is a creation of nature, not human action, and its value comes from natural features and the population, commerce, and public works of the community. Land rent is a pure surplus that mother nature offers to us as a gift by which to finance the public goods provided by government. But you have rejected mama’s natural offer. Instead, you, by voting for the status quo governmental chiefs, you attack the earnings of labor, and with that loot, you provide public goods that pump up land rent and land value. Yes, you, the voter! What happens then is that rent absorbs much of the gain from economic expansion and progress. Speculators jump in to leverage profit from the land-value rise. Landowners buy land with borrowed funds, so they engage their partners, the banks and other financiers. Speculation raises land values to peaks unaffordable for actual use, and then land values plunge, and the leveraged mortgages and derivatives crash. That is the source of panics and depressions.

  There is only one remedy for the boom-bust cycle, and that is to stop subsidizing real estate.

  Capitalism: A Brilliantly Confused Story by Fred E. Foldvary

  ''capitalism''  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking  statism  capital 

• →

  Fixing Capitalism

  … Marx and his followers then came along and mucked up the language and thinking. Marx wanted to distinguish the workers from all those who owned assets, and so he lumped land into capital. From then on, most economists followed Marx in focusing only on labor and capital, and the physiocratic and classical emphasis on land was set aside. The neoclassical economic thought that followed the classical was encouraged to forget land, since this benefited the landed interests who financed them, and it also made the mathematical models easier if there are two rather than three factors. From now on, the system would be called “capitalism.” But is capital a problem? Capital provides investment, and investment and better technology is what has raised living standards world-wide. “Capitalism” makes entrepreneurs and owners of capital the villains, whereas Ricardo’s law of rent shows that much of the gain from trade and technology go to the owners of land as rent…

  Fixing Capitalism by Fred E. Foldvary

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking  ''capitalism''  capital 

• →

  Geoism and Libertarianism

  Geoism is the philosophy of sharing the benefits of the land (geo), while respecting the equal self-ownership of persons. Self-ownership implies that one owns one’s body and life, and therefore one’s labor and wages and the products of labor. These should be unrestricted and untaxed, and traded without taxation or restriction. The benefits of land have their economic manifestation as rent, which can be shared either as public revenues, community financing, or as dividends to the members of a community. We can see that the two movements and philosophies have much in common and have no inherent conflicts between them. There are adherents to both movements, geolibertarians who identify with both geoism and libertarianism. But for the most part, these have remained distinct movements… Libertarians stress individualism, while many geoists emphasize community. Many libertarians have little knowledge about the economics of land and rent. Many geoists don’t fully understand free trade…

  Geoism and Libertarianism by Fred E. Foldvary

  economics  geoism  land  libertarianism  rent seeking 

• 20110522

  String Theory and Land Rent

  Vibrations of rent are generated by demands for space and natural materials, but unlike labor, the supply does not come from human sources. The supply comes from geological and geographical strings. Unlike labor strings, the strings of land services do not come from any individuals, but from society generally. It is the vibration of the community, not any individual, which generates land rent vibrations. Human strings are created equal; there are no master and slave strings in nature, so the financial flows of rent should go equally to all the human strings of the community. But governments typically intervene to shift the rent only to those having privileged legal title. Community members are not getting back their share of value generated. Their income strings become broken. The economic strings are broken, and we get economic diseases: inflation, unemployment, congestion, poverty, instability, war! Most people see the broken strings, but do not understand the causes.

  String Theory and Land Rent by Fred E. Foldvary

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking 

• 20110425

  Why Aren't You an Anarchist?

  

  Image: Archigram

  … Another variant is geoanarchism, in which people would live in contractual communities whose public goods are financed from land rent. The members would share the belief that the land rent should be collected and distributed to all members equally or else used for public goods. Members could secede, but would lose the package, so secession would be limited. Folks would therefore have the advantages of a state, but without the tyranny. The greater association could include “anarcho-capitalist” communities that do not use land rent for their public finance. Economic theory indicates that the geoanarchist communities would have greater prosperity, since communities that do not use land rent for public goods would find that their public works get capitalized into higher rents, making the residents pay double for public goods, once as fees and then again as higher rent. Most folks would rather pay once than twice, so they would move out of anarcho-capitalism into geoanarchism.

  Why Aren’t You an Anarchist? by Fred E. Foldvary

  anarchism  geoanarchism  geoism  land  voluntaryism  ''capitalism'' 

• 20100902

  Anarcho-Capitalism FAQ

  Some anarcho-capitalists have actually shunned the term “capitalism” and describe themselves as “left libertarian” free market anti-capitalists! Why? They choose to use the 19th century Marxian definition of capitalism – the exploitative collusion of (certain established) capitalists and State. (Most anarcho-capitalists would call this “economic fascism” or “statist capitalism.”) This approach is basically a marketing ploy; branding anarcho-capitalism in a way that may attract anti-privilege lefties who use such jargon. These “left libertarians” tend to stress anti-corporation and equality issues, as their lefty jargon would imply.

  A high-profile division among anarcho-capitalists concerns ”what things can be valid property”. In particular, the validity of intellectual property (IP) is hotly contested, with one camp per Benjamin Tucker denying that non-scarce goods qualify as property, and the other per Lysander Spooner strongly supporting copyrights and patents. Agorism, mentioned above, is anti-IP. Another property question is whether land and natural resources are valid private property. While most anarcho-capitalists consider land to be valid property, geoanarchists disagree. Geoanarchism is the radical branch of geoism (aka Georgism), which interprets the Georgist “single tax” ground rent as either a “citizen’s dividend” to be disbursed to everyone in the community, or as the income to a community-owned firm providing municipal services.

  Anarcho-Capitalism FAQ

  —

  A Geoanarchist perspective on what is and is not valid property:

  “Land” is a concept, a term for an indefinite (and thus potentially unlimited) congregation[1] of atoms. Property (or “capital” or “the means of production”) is that which is evidently and definitely produced by human action: a purposeful process of creation, transformation, production, manufacture, mixing labor, changing properties, etc

  Rather than indefinite ownership claims of “land”, claim a definite ownership of a definite congregation[1] of atoms: fertilized soil, a flower garden, a vegetable garden, a vegetable from that vegetable garden, a path, a pond, park, bowling green, soccer pitch, road, highway, car park, gold mine, gold nugget, a big hole made by the foundations of a house (and the house), a small hole made by the post of a fence (and the fence), a mud pie, sand castle, etc. These things are definite and evidently the result of human action and are thus valid property. Claim ownership of that which can be owned: your body (property) and the property created by your body; but don’t claim ownership of “land”.

  By what possible or probable human action can one make a valid claim to own an indefinite (and thus potentially unlimited) congregation[1] of atoms such as “land”?

  Is it not the case that any evident act of human action is necessarily definite about which atoms have been acted upon and therefore not indefinite about which atoms have been acted upon?

  How can competing ownership claims of atoms be arbitrated without appeal to the objective standard of evident and definite human action?

  In conclusion, a valid claim of property or ownership is based upon, and limited by, those definite atoms upon which a human can legitimately act and did evidently act.

  1. A collection or mass of separate things. - Webster’s Dictionary, 1913.

  ''capitalism''  geoanarchism  geoism  land  property 

• 20100402

  Geoanarchism

  Geolibertarians consider land to be the common property of all mankind. They say that private property is derived from an individual’s right to the fruits of their labor. Since land was not created by anyone’s labor, it cannot be rightfully owned. Thus, geolibertarians recognize a right to secure possession of land (land tenure), on the condition that the full rental value be paid [voluntarily] to the community [assuming there is a community and that local tenants are benefiting from improvements to another tenant’s land]. This, they say, has the effect of both giving back the value that belongs to the community and encouraging landholders to only use as much land as they need, leaving plenty for others. This strict definition of property as all fruits of labor makes geolibertarians fervent advocates of free markets.

  Fred Foldvary on Geo-anarchism:

  In a libertarian or anarchist world, some people might be unaffiliated anarcho-capitalists, contracting with various firms for services. But if we look at markets today, we see instead contractual communities. We see condominiums, homeowner associations, cooperatives, and neighborhood associations. For temporary lodging, folks stay in hotels, and stores get lumped into shopping centers. Historically, human beings have preferred to live and work in communities. Competition induces efficiency, and private communities tend to be financed from the rentals of sites and facilities, since this is the most efficient source of funding. Henry George recognized that site rents are the most efficient way to finance community goods because it is a fee paid for benefits, paying back that value added by those benefits. Private communities today such as hotels and condominiums use geoist financing. Unfortunately, governments do not.

  Geoist communities would join together in leagues and associations to provide services that are more efficient on a large scale, such as defense, if needed. The voting and financing would be bottom up. The local communities would elect representatives, and provide finances, and would be able to secede when they felt association was no longer in their interest.

  Geoanarchism: A short summary of geoism and its relation to libertarianism by Fred Foldvary

  anarchism  economics  geoanarchism  geoism  land  property  voluntaryism  rent seeking 

• 20100320

  

  UK Taxation History: The Shift From Land (Rent) To Labor (Wages)

  Taken from: Fred Harrison: Documentary #4 - Betrayal of the Lords

  (An unfortunate plea for statist action. Noted for economic analysis of land.)

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking 

• →

  “All democratic governments maintain a tax system that milks the poor to keep the rich, rich. ‘Progressive’ taxes are a cover for a cruel hoax on people with low incomes. This is how the scam works…”

  (An unfortunate plea for statist action. Noted for economic analysis of land.)

  Fred Harrison: Ricardo’s Law — The Great Tax Clawback Scam

  economics  geoism  land  rent seeking 

• 20091031

  Land Value Tax: How should we be campaigning?

  The conventional language employed to promote the re-socialisation of rent (and the re-privatisation of wages) will continue to obstruct fiscal reform. The entrenched interests will not allow a “tax on land values”. After all, it’s “their land”, anyway, isn’t it? — …it’s NOT a tax. It’s inviting middle-class home-owners (today’s aristocracy, in political power terms) to honour their value system - pay for what you get, and get rid of taxes on the incomes you earn. This is the language of a political/moral prospectus that the voting majority - middle-class home-owners - would not be able to oppose, publicly. That’s why the vested interests would have to try to shift the debate back onto the territory of the landowners’ choosing: “this is a tax, really”. That ploy would need to be resisted. — People need to be reminded: stop whinging about what’s wrong with this world, stop talking about your entitlements, accept personal responsibility and claim what is yours by right.

  (An unfortunate plea for statist action. Noted for economic analysis of land.)

  Land Value Taxation Campaign: How should we be campaigning?

  economics  land  geoism 

• →

  What is Land Value Taxation?

  The system of landholding must be changed. Land is not man-made: it is a given, a condition precedent to the creation/evolution of homo sapiens. For practical purposes its quantity is fixed. It can not be moved from place to place. Each parcel is unique in its attraction as a location in comparison with all others. Its rental value derives from natural advantage and from the past activity of the community as a whole; but, more importantly still, that rental value is constantly being maintained or varied by what society does in the here and now and by what it has in mind for to-morrow. The value of land is public; but the value of man-made wealth, of wages, of interest on man-made capital, is private. That is the great truth, and it is the business of politics, of economics, and of philosophy to proclaim it. Take taxes off wealth and the wealth-creators. Take instead that which is already public. Fund the public revenue from collection of the annual rental value of land.

  (An unfortunate plea for statist action. Noted for economic analysis of land.)

  The Land Value Tax Campaign: What is Land Value Taxation?

  economics  land  geoism 

• 20091029

  The Renegade Economist — The Global Financial Crisis “The Renegade Economist presents a five part investigative documentary series uncovering the people and practices behind the global financial crisis.”

  (An unfortunate plea for statist ‘solutions’. Noted for economic analysis of boom/bust business- and land- cycles via land malspeculation)

  Part 1 Gordon Brown’s Cover Up  ALT VIDEO LINK
  Part 2 Why “Nobody Saw It Coming”  ALT VIDEO LINK
  Part 3 Casino Capitalism  ALT VIDEO LINK
  Part 4 Betrayal of the Lords ALT VIDEO LINK
  Part 5 Fred Harrison: Property Bust after 14 Year Boom 1/2 
  Part 6 Fred Harrison: Property Bust after 14 Year Boom 2/2
  Part 7 Fred Harrison: US Sub Prime
  Part 8 Fred Harrison: Sub Prime Solution

  central banking  economics  geoism  government  land  mercantilism  rent seeking  statism  land cycle