On the ownership of land

«-un rapport intime-existait entre la constitution de l'Etat et la propriété;-tout l'édifice économique et social reposait sur cette dernière,-» «La propriété, si on la saisit à l'origine, est un principle vicieux en soi et anti-social, mais destiné à devenir par sa généralisation même et par concours d'autres institutions, le pivot et le grand ressort de tout le système social.»

Abstract

In the first section concepts relating to the ownership of land, as voiced by various thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to Locke, Proudhon and Marx, are discussed. In the second section it is shown, that despite the high moral tone of the theorists, in practice land was acquired by theft, the theft perhaps followed by some retrospective attempts to achieve legality. Land was also expropriated on a large scale to be used as a counter in the struggle between the power groupa within the state. In the third section the present day relevance of estate ownership is briefly examined, with reference to political power and to environmental conservation. It is suggested that ideally there should be a return to a leasehold system, in Proudhon's terms possession rather than ownership, land leased from the community and forfeited if environmental damage is inflicted. There should be limit to the upward size of estates in order to limit the political advantages that accrue to families holding large areas of land. For these reforms to be effective and enormous enlargement of democratic processes is required, accompanied by a reduction in power of the central authorities, and by an increase in the financial and intellectual investment in education.