Land: The Vital Mechanism That Turns Labour into The Needs of Life

A Share In The Land

We each arrive on this planet with nothing. We each take none of it with us when we leave. Yet there is a glaring disparity in how its habitable land is divided among us. No excursion in moral reasoning can justify this. The poor and dispossessed should therefore be given back their rightful shares.

History

Before 1700 A.D. there was well over 1½ km² of habitable land for every family on the Earth. Even as late as 1800 A.D. there was still about 1 km² of habitable land per family. Today, with almost 6 billion people on earth, there remains only about 15.2 hectares of habitable land per family. This planet still has more than enough land for everybody to be able to turn their labour into their needs of life.

The Potential

Ecologists calculate that the planet's biosphere is capable of supporting 6 times the present population. Each human being is equipped with a 120-150 watt body, a 100-billion neurone brain and 8 productive hours a day in which to use them. So provided he is allowed to apply his labour to an adequate portion of the planet's resources, every human being is capable of producing his needs of life. In favourable circumstances, the amount he can produce is more than the immediate consumable needs of himself and his dependants.

The Reality

The table below shows the amount of habitable land covered by the United Kingdom, and available on the planet as a whole. It then shows how much this works out as per head of population for each. Land, as an economic resource, is relevant only to working economic units. The basic economic unit is the generic family†. A generic family is made up of 2 grandparents, 2 parents and 3 children.

United Kingdom The World
Habitable Land 241,590 km² 130,693,000 km²
Population ‡ 58,970,119 ~6,000,000,000
Land per person 4,097 m² 21,782 m²
Land per family † 28,678 m² 152,475 m²
‡ United Kingdom population estimate at July 1998.

‡ United Kingdom population estimate at July 1998.
	United Kingdom	The World
Habitable Land	241,590 km²	130,693,000 km²
Population ‡	58,970,119	~6,000,000,000
Land per person	4,097 m²	21,782 m²
Land per family †	28,678 m²	152,475 m²

As an inhabitant of the planet, my share of its land surface should therefore be just over 15 hectares. A hectare is 10,000 m². 100 hectares = 1 km². In fairness, this should be my unconditional inheritance by right of birth. In other words, my birthright. Even as an inhabitant of this grossly over-crowded United Kingdom of Great Britain, my share of its land surface still should be almost 3 hectares.

In contrast, the table below shows how much land is actually owned by 3 different inhabitants of the United Kingdom: the Queen, the farmer I know, and me. It also shows how many times (in my case, what fraction of) their fair share each has of the land in the United Kingdom, and of the habitable land surface of this planet.

Area Owned Share of U.K. Share of Earth
The Queen † 28,000 hectares 9,764 times 1,836 times
The Farmer 158 hectares 55 times 10½ times
Me .0676 hectares 1/42^nd of 1/234^th of
† Combined area of the Balmoral and Sandringham estates only.

† Combined area of the Balmoral and Sandringham estates only.
	Area Owned	Share of U.K.	Share of Earth
The Queen	† 28,000 hectares	9,764 times	1,836 times
The Farmer	158 hectares	55 times	10½ times
Me	.0676 hectares	1/42^nd of	1/234^th of

The farmer has 2,337 times as much land as I have. The Queen has 414,201 times as much land as I have. And as her subjects generally fare, I have rather more than the average.