‘Buy Land; they’re not making it any more’ Mark Twain Land: The Most Fundamental Resource in a Green Economy What is land? — Classical economists focused on land: ‘the distinguishing feature of land is that it is essentially in fixed supply to the whole economy even in the long run’ — It includes all the resources contained in the land — Not considered inherently different from capital and can be discussed as an equivalent ‘factor of production’ — Private ownership leads to efficient use of land — Can be sold in a market which determines its prices in terms of supply and demand — Can provide a living from rents The indigenous perspective — In societies whose very existence depended upon knowing the earth and how to hunt its animals and forage for its foods—the way of life for 99 percent of human history—respect for the natural world and an appreciation of the land itself as sacred and inviolable was surely inevitable. That sensibility was literally so vital that it was embedded in some central place in each culture’s myths and traditions and was embodied in each culture’s supreme spirits and deities. — Kirkpatrick Sale Does the land belong to us? — All land is sacred. It is their bible. Indigenous people do not see the land as a commodity which can be sold or bought. They do not see themselves as possessors but as guardians of land. A fundamental difference between the indigenous concept of land and the western idea is that indigenous peoples belong to the land rather than the land belonging to them. — Zapata and Schielman The Enlightenment position — The natural world is essentially there for our benefit, our use, our comfort. The Colorado River is there to provide water for the people and farms of Southern California, needing only the technology of a Boulder Dam to complete what nature forgot to do; the Northwestern forests are there to provide lumber that the growing populations of the carelessly sprawling suburbs need to build their rightful houses; the Hudson River flows purposefully to the Atlantic so that human wastes and industrial poisons such as PCBs can be carried away, out of sight and mind, to the sea. Exploitation vs. ecology — Neoclassical economists no problem with ‘exploitation’ but ecologists do — Three insights from ecology: — ‘carrying capacity’ — ‘regenerative capacity’ — ‘ecological niche’ — Population and consumption within the limits of that ecosystem’s regenerative capacity, and not exceeding what it can support or ‘carry’ Guiding principles of a green approach to land: — Land ownership is conceptually dubious: there is a preference for stewardship — Rather than exploiting the earth and its resources we should adopt a posture based on respect for the land, almost as an entity in its own right Who gains the benefit from land? — Henry George — Progress and Poverty, 1880 — The ‘single tax’ — Site-value tax or Land Value Tax — Herr Dr Professor Johanisova Reasons for taxing land — It is fixed — The proceeds of the most valuable resource should be shared — It leads to efficient use of land and means it is not left ‘idle’ Structure of Land Value Tax — Land Value Tax is levied on the annual rental value of each parcel of land — Based on unimproved value, so not a tax on capital — Need a baseline survey of the values of certain types of land and survey of land holding — Bramhall, R. (1999) „Land Value Tax“, in Scott Cato and Kennett (eds.), Green Economics: Beyond Supply and Demand to Meeting Peoples Needs (Aberystwyth: Green Audit). — http://www.sustecweb.co.uk/past/sustec13-1/land_value_taxationrichard.htm Canons of good taxation practice — Cheap to collect — Difficult to evade — Should fall lightly on production—sales and employment taxes discourage economic activity — Discourages speculative land holding, e.g. Olympic site in Greenwich — Encourages active use of land — LVT combines practical advantage with moral justice. Landowners did not create the land, so, however legitimately they may have acquired it, land it is owned ultimately only by "right" of conquest. And just as landowners didn't create the land, neither do they create its value. Land values are conferred by the existence of the human community and its collective economic effort. It is therefore morally just to redistribute the advantages of holding (as opposed to using) land which otherwise accrue to private profit. Land taxes in different countries Community land trusts — Shared ownership of land — Separating land values from the need for a home — How to keep the value with the community as prices rise? Building on land — Holism: melding of ecosystem management, regenerative resource use and conservation, regional planning, regenerative systems, and sustainable community design — Linking homes and livelihoods — Ecovillages Co-housing — Energy-efficient — Shared eating and equipment saves energy — Helps to build community — How to get away from ‘the Englishman’s home is his castle’? Permaculture principles for growing on land — Working with nature saves energy — The problem is the solution — Make the least change for the greatest possible effect — The yield of a system is theoretically unlimited (or only limited by the imagination and information of the designer) — Everything gardens (or modifies its environment) Seasonality and the annual cycle