Geolibertarianism

Geolibertarianism (also geoanarchism) is a liberal political philosophy that holds, like other forms of libertarian individualism, that each individual has an exclusive right to the fruits of his or her labor, as opposed to this product being owned collectively by society or the community. In other words, geolibertarians support private property. However, unlike "royalist" forms of libertarianism, geolibertarianism holds that all land is owned in common by society and may not become private property. Therefore, if individuals claim the land as their property they must pay rent to the community for doing so. They hold that private property is the product of labor, and since land itself was not created by human labor, it cannot rightfully be considered the property of any individual. Geolibertarians generally advocate distributing the land rent to the community via a land value tax, as proposed by Henry George and others before him. For this reason, they are often called "single taxers". Fred E. Foldvary coined the word "geo-libertarianism" in an article so titled in Land and Liberty, May/June 1981, pp. 53-55. In the case of geoanarchism as described by Foldvary, rent would be collected by private associations with the opportunity to secede from a geocommunity (and not receive the geocommunity's services) if desired.

Geolibertarians are generally influenced by Georgism, but the ideas behind it pre-date Henry George, and can be found in different forms in the writings of John Locke, the French Physiocrats, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, James Mill (John Stuart Mill's father), David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer. Perhaps the best summary of geolibertarianism is Thomas Paine's assertion that "Men did not make the earth. It is the value of the improvements only, and not the earth itself, that is individual property. Every proprietor owes to the community a ground rent for the land which he holds." On the other hand, Locke wrote that private land ownership should be praised for its productivity, not taxed, so long as "as much and as good" land remains in common for others; georgists argue that land cannot earn a rent unless this proviso is violated.

Property rights

Geolibertarians consider land to be the common property of all mankind. They say that private property is derived from an individual's right to the fruits of their labor. (In this first label geolibertarians have no difference with anarchists' economic vision.) Since land is not created by anyone's labor, it cannot be owned. Thus, geolibertarians recognize a right to privately possess land, on the condition that the full rental value be paid to the community. This, they say, has the effect of both giving back the value that belongs to the community and encouraging landowners to only use as much land as they need, leaving plenty for others.

This strict definition of property as all fruits of labour makes geolibertarians fervent advocates of free trade. They believe that people have the right to do anything with what is legitimately theirs. Like all libertarians, they believe in the legalization of every activity between consenting adults, which includes any trade to which both parties agree.

The geolibertarian take on poverty and welfare

According to geolibertarianism, the guiding parameter behind wages is what is called the margin of production. The margin of production is the amount of money that a person can make working on land that is free. When anyone chooses to work for someone else instead of working for himself on the free land, it is because he gets a higher amount of money. Thus, the margin of production represents an absolute floor on wage level in any society, under free market circumstances.

The differences between geolibertarians and other libertarians arise at this point. Geolibertarians believe that the rule of law, protection of private property and creation of public goods are undoubtedly public benefits, but the greatest gain from these go to land owners. And because of this benefit, it becomes economically feasible for many to hold economically valuable land out of use and still gain benefits from its price rise. This is in contrast to any capital good, that can benefit its owner only if it is put into the service of others, that is, if it is used for commerce rather than withheld from commerce. Thus, this continued retention of land without usage (or in sub-optimal use) causes those who actually desire to use land to settle for lower and lower quality of land. This pushes the margin of production downwards resulting in lower wages.

Elimination of the incentive to hold land out of use, along with higher employment (because of more land going to usage) and lower interest rates (because of lower prices of land, resulting in lesser need of capital for going into ANY business), results in a high level of prosperity and eliminates the need for welfare.

The land value tax

Geolibertarians advocate the land value tax for a number of reasons. As explained already, it is seen as a means of upholding the equal right to land. It is also the tax most compatible with the free market. It does not affect the price of goods, nor does it discourage productivity, since it does not affect the cost of production. In fact, it actually increases productivity by lowering the entrance barrier into the market and encouraging more efficient land use.

Geolibertarians argue that, since public utilities and services increase land value, they could essentially fund themselves through the land value tax. In this way, the tax can fund the functions of government so long as it contributes to the community. Some geolibertarians believe that all government expenditures beyond these functions should go towards a citizen's dividend, an equal payment to the whole community. Some others have argued that the citizens' dividend should come first, and then individuals can arrange by contract to have portions of it go to fund specified services.

Criticisms

One criticism of geolibertarianism is economic: that their analysis of fallow land as the major cause of poverty is wrong. Critics point out that in many places, such as Bolivia, poverty endures despite an abundance of idle land. Most neoclassical economists do not deal with land as a separate factor of production, but rather treat it as capital. Geolibertarianism is considered anti-environmentalist by some who worry that it wouldn't acknowledge natural capital as separate from land, thus abhorring natural preserves or any fallow land. A criticism of the geolibertarian view of property is that scarcity, not labor, determines valid property. Thus the fact that land is scarce is seen as all the more reason to make it private property.

External links

Libertarianism | Anarchism