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A Trespassing Scenario

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Inquisitor:
territory can be expanded by developing land
 

Any "developing" of land by human labor creates capital not land. By definition land pre-exists human labor.

Inquisitor:
In a sense, never. It is always bound up with an obligation of others not to interfere with it.

Yes. Subjecting others to economic rent is interfering with their right of self-ownership.

Inquisitor:
What about taxing the rest of market transactions, like I mentioned?

After land is transformed into capital via labor it can not be subject to a tax without violating the absolute right of self-ownership of the owner. 

 

 

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WmBGreene:

JonBostwick:
all dwellings are not occupied and never will be.

I said if all lands were legally occupied. "Dwellings" having been constructed via human labor are capital not land.

JonBostwick:
The self-ownership rights of babies are really threatened these days.

Then when exactly do you get to excercise the absolute right of self-ownership that doesn't have to be purcahsed or gifted?

 

You said land, but you meant dwelling. You are talking about a person lacking a right to "stand" somewhere. But he does not have to stand on land. He could live on a house boat. He could live in an apartment. He could live in a basement.

You get to exercise your "absolute right of self-ownership" when you are able to. As soon as a child demonstrates he is able to support himself(eg earn a living and buy a place to live) then his existence no longer depends on the charity of his parents. As you probably know, even though babies are not property, they depend on others to continue living.

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JonBostwick:
You said land, but you meant dwelling.
 

Really? Are you a mind reader?

JonBostwick:
But he does not have to stand on land. He could live on a house boat. He could live in an apartment. He could live in a basement.

A boat, an apartment, and a basement are capital - not land.

JonBostwick:
As soon as a child demonstrates he is able to support himself(eg earn a living and buy a place to live) then his existence no longer depends on the charity of his parents.

So in other words, a right of self-ownership has to be purchased? 

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WmBGreene:

Any "developing" of land by human labor creates capital not land. By definition land pre-exists human labor.

Are you hoping this might become true by repeating it over and over? So what if land pre-exists labour, what has this to do with anything? 

Yes. Subjecting others to economic rent is interfering with their right of self-ownership.

Not at all. It is the duty of the parents to provide a location. Once this has been done it is purely up to the individual how to make use of it. 

After land is transformed into capital via labor it can not be subject to a tax without violating the absolute right of self-ownership of the owner.

 The individual isn't receiving their labour's worth - they are receiving more than this. Why should it not be taxed, by Georgist logic?

 

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Bostwick replied on Mon, Nov 5 2007 10:18 PM
WmBGreene:

JonBostwick:
You said land, but you meant dwelling.
 

Really? Are you a mind reader?

No, pretty good at reading words though.

 


WmBGreene:

If all lands are currently legally occupied then where can he stand in which he doesn't have his absolute right of self-ownership violated by having to pay someone or having it gifted to him?


Your question, besides you trying to use it justify something completely unrelated, does not hold up because of it will never happen. Because of capital people will not need to steal LAND in order to exist, they will be able to trade for CAPITAL. Voluntary relationships makes your central planning unended. (What a suprise!)

How unfair that someone should have to work in order to exist, right? Oh wait, thats what humans have always done. A human can live in the wilderness and exploit the land to support himself(good luck) or he can rent a dwelling in a city and work for his neighbors(and have them work for him). If the entire world is urban, it simply removes his first option. But since this is not the result of a crime, only the collective choices of peaceful people, he is owed nothing. This fictional person has the same obligation as everyone else, he must find a way to support himself without infringing on others.

P.S. What about the right to exist of people unable to exist on their own? Invalids for example. Are they allowed to exist at the expense of others, that is, by stealing? Can they take land in order to provide themselves with laborless income?

 

 

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JonBostwick:
No, pretty good at reading words though.
 

Since when does the word "land" mean the word "dwelling"?

JonBostwick:
Because of capital people will not need to steal LAND in order to exist

My argument is that to exist IS TO occupy land somewhere and that the vision of libertarians IS TO bring everything into a private property framework.

 

JonBostwick:
they will be able to trade for CAPITAL.

A right does not have to be gifted or purchased. We are born with them as humans. 

 

JonBostwick:
Voluntary relationships makes your central planning unended. (What a suprise!)

It is not voluntary to occupy some location while existing. They are one in the same.

 

JonBostwick:
How unfair that someone should have to work in order to exist, right?

There is no "work" in order to exist. To exist is to occupy a location somewhere. There is only working to continue to exist. 

I involuntarily labor to freely breathe the air to continue to exist. I labor to drink water which freely exists in nature to continue to exist. If I do not have free access to the earth then I don't have the means to feed myself without paying atribute to someone else.

 

JonBostwick:
This fictional person has the same obligation as everyone else, he must find a way to support himself without infringing on others.

The point is that the landless are being infringed upon by having to pay economic rent to the landowners which violates their absolute right of self-ownership.

JonBostwick:
Can they take land in order to provide themselves with laborless income?

You mean like a landowner does? In the system I advocate there would be no purchase price for land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DBratton:

Inquisitor:
No, that'd be murder. At most the owner could force the individual to pay for the flight, out of present wealth or future earnings.
 

I agree you could settle out of his present assets; but to attach future earnings is slavery isn't it? 

 No, because legally he has a debt to pay to those against whom he trespassed. This trespassing debt is not really different from any other debt one is obligated to pay.

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Bostwick replied on Wed, Nov 14 2007 12:30 AM

WmBGreene:
The point is that the landless are being infringed upon by having to pay economic rent to the landowners which violates their absolute right of self-ownership.

Oh. I dont see how thats a problem.

 

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WmBGreene replied on Thu, Nov 15 2007 2:45 PM

JonBostwick:
I dont see how that's a problem
 

Why does that not suprise me?

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