Awakening of the Disposessed: Land & (In)Equality

[Critical Thinking]

[]



<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/1073-land-and-equality>Land 
and equality

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Hi All,

Inequality is one of the most debilitating and 
destructive forces in society today, not just for 
those at the bottom of the pile but for everyone, 
amply evidenced by Tomas Piketty in 
<http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674430006>Capital 
in the Twenty-First Century and in 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/662-spirit-level>The 
Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.


While 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/new-economy/447-interest-inequality-and-sustainability>interest 
on money is an inevitable driver of inequality, 
the private capture of common resources and land 
for private gain provides the fundamental 
underpinning to ruling elite power, driving 
poverty and deprivation (see Henry George's 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/806-the-game-of-monopoly>Progress 
and Poverty).


Ethiopia has shown the way in terms of steps 
required to return land and resources to common ownership.


<http://www.theiu.org/news/land-system-ethiopia-model-world.html>Land 
use system of Ethiopia: a model to the world


“There is a hope of restoring the value of land 
to the nation of Ethiopia.” Kidane G. Hiwot


Hat tip to Arvind, Ole and Maggie for this


The third essential element of reform, to 
eradicate the 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/new-economy/499-economics-to-save-our-civilisation-2>flaws 
in the economic system, is to provide the means 
to life to all in the form of an unconditional 
basic income. One of the common "complaints" 
about citizens income is that it would encourage 
fecklessness. Evidence from the 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/752-citizens-income-in-india>basic 
income pilot in India suggests otherwise.



<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnB16E36EQ&feature=youtu.be>What 
if everybody got free cash? Myths and facts about 
Unconditional Basic Income (30 minute video)


Hat tip to Paulo for this


The most common refrain from critics of 
unconditional citizens income is that is would 
create a "something for nothing" culture but we 
already have a "something for nothing" culture. 
<http://www.freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/1066-banking-is-a-religion>Bankers 
create money from nothing and charge us for using 
it whereas landowners stole land and resources 
(originally in military conquest but now enforced 
by "legal" title) and charged the community ever higher "rents"  for their use.


<http://www.theiu.org/news/welfare-rich-receives-biggest-subsidies-uk.html>Welfare 
for the Rich – who really receives the biggest subsidies in the UK?


We all know that Britain’s richest 1% have 
accumulated as much wealth as the poorest 55% of 
the population but what is not recognised by most 
politicians or journalists is that the poorest 
are subsidising the richest because of our 
fundamentally flawed economic system.


Hat tip to Arvind, Ole and Maggie for this


Unlike citizens income, interest on money and 
private land ownership encourage fecklessness.



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