Saturday, 29 June 2013
Without land capitalism is unpleasant
Capitalism is difficult for people without land... if we have our own land we can grow our own food and then trade some of it for food we prefer. We can also trade our labour to improve the farms of others. For example we can help to fix their barn if they will mend our tractor. If we have land and so food trade becomes merely a system of barter where we improve our assets (in our own mind) by exchange with other people. The problem for the landless capitalist is that without land they will not be able to eat without the market being in requirement of their services. This means that they are waiting for someone to have a problem which only they will be able to fix. This means that if everything goes well for everyone else (and they can grow their own food) the capitalist will not be able to eat without charity because all of the needs of the market are already met. The capitalist relies on accidents and tragedy to eat whereas if they have their own land then all forms of exchange are merely an improvement to their life and that of others. We need land to be able to support ourselves and without it we rely on other people being in trouble for us to be able to support ourselves. Landless capitalism relies on the poverty and misfortune of other people. If we do not have our own land then capitalism offers us an income only if other people rely on our help. If we have land then trade and capitalism is more amenable to a civilised existence.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment