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How Much Land Does a Man Need? (1886)
- ArtWomb 7y agoAbsolute classic. Another Tolstoy short story I really love is the tale of "The Two Pilgrims". You read them once. And they stay with you your entire life ;) http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2891/ http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2891/
- forgotmypw 7y agoRussian: https://rvb.ru/tolstoy/01text/vol_10/01text/0259.htm https://rvb.ru/tolstoy/01text/vol_10/01text/0259.htm
- rjkennedy98 7y agoI believe James Joyce considered this the finest short story ever written.
- newnewpdro 7y agoCurse you HN, here goes another unplanned multi-hour diversion.
- adembudak 7y agoGosh... I (re)read it this morning, and come across it to here. I developed an habit that I gift a book to a random person I meet on outside... at a coffee shop, or on a beach whatever. I usually choose a person that read a book and go like "hey, what are you reading?" and we talk about it... It's a great icebreaker. By the time, I happen to buy hundreds of books and decided to share them. What is the point collecting them and calling it a "library"? It eventually lead me to meet the people from all shades of life with the interesting stories.
- christiansakai 7y agoInteresting practice. I like to read, around 2 books per month, and mostly random books (non fiction) that catch my interest. I have interests that are unrelated to one another, and due to this I find it difficult to just talk about a book to someone I know, and even more so with strangers.
- dorchadas 7y agoI'm the same way, but I've actually found that having random interests makes it easier to talk to people, precisely because I've read from a variety of topics.
- CyanBird 7y ago2 books per month, really? What does your schedule looks like? I have a large catalog of books which Id love to go over, but it can be very hard for me to find the time to simply sit and read beyond sitting on a plane or a bus
- ConsiderCrying 7y agoDo you not have much free time after work? Or do you just feel like there are better things to occupy it, other than reading? I always read after a work and manage more than 2 books a month but, then again, I don't think I've seen a movie or played a video game in at least half a year, so I'm sacrificing on that front.
- Infinitesimus 7y agoI'd wager family responsibilities (young kids, sick family, partner who doesn't value reading alone for 1hr as much as you do, etc.)
- ConsiderCrying 7y agoYeah, I'm lucky to have no kids and a bookworm partner so I don't get roped into playing with toys or watching reality TV. The other option in such cases would probably be their commute to work, if they have one. Audiobooks can be a real savior there.
- perfect_kiss 7y agoThe story of climate change from mid-20 century to present day, at a glance.
- anoncow 7y agoArchive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200105211507/https://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2738/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200105211507/https://www.onlin...
- IA21 7y agoMirror for ctrl+f
- curuinor 7y agoTolstoy was a Georgist, and this is basically a little Georgist short story. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3487337 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3487337 The basic point of Georgism is that landownership is the root of most of the economic evil in the world and land should all be expropriated and held in common. (but don't want to expropriate capital or do anything to it, unlike the Marxists: Marx called Georgism "Capitalism's last ditch") So strangely enough, it's not about greed in general, it's about land specifically.
- baxtr 7y agoInteresting! I wonder though what is specific to land which is different from any other asset or capital in general according to Georgists?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- curuinor 7y agoBasically, the social value of land is 100% socially constructed, but under a system of landownership, it's 100% privately held and all the profit goes to private hands. There are multiple empty lots very close to downtown SF which are worth millions, tens of millions that the landlord didn't do jack shit to improve, that everyone else improved the value of, that the entire value of is the location. But when the landlord sells, only they get the value. But it's easy as hell to tax land and impossible to avoid the tax (just show up with cops, what the hell are they going to do, move the land? - and if they don't pay, just sell the land to someone else, although usually the aim is to collect the tax when transactions happen) So tax it. 100%. Georgism's tax suggestions go: have that 100% land tax (not property tax), have no other taxes, that's it. Also tax networks which have an inherent monopoly effect, it was also suggested by Henry George. Nothing to do with agrarian points of view, really. Georgism was created in SF, it was most popular in NYC, and it was talking about the problems of the first properly modern cities in America and Britain.
- throwno 7y ago
- idoubtit 7y agoThis story was faithfully transposed to *bande dessinée" (European comics) by Martin Veyron in 2016. "Ce qu'il faut de terre à l'homme" won a prize at the Angoulême Festival, and I recommend it very much if you can read French. My only complaint with it is that the handful of Cyrillic texts in the drawings are not made of Russian words but simple transliterations of French words. Among the short novels wrote by Tolstoi, my personal preference is for "Father Sergius". A young prince can't support any more the royal court, so he flees outside of his world, then struggles in trying to find meaning and peace in his life.
- amiga_500 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy > Tolstoy also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George > towards the end of his life, Tolstoy become more and more occupied with the economic theory and social philosophy of Georgism. > He spoke of great admiration of Henry George, stating once that "People do not argue with the teaching of George; they simply do not know it. And it is impossible to do otherwise with his teaching, for he who becomes acquainted with it cannot but agree." Land value tax explained in 10 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD_dZvPwAj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD_dZvPwAj0
- perl4ever 7y agoYou know what else is an interesting fringe idea that had some famous adherents? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_credit ...I have never really looked into it, but I happened on a paragraph that makes it sound like it might be an approach to dealing with the problems people complain about a lot these days: "Douglas proposed to eliminate the gap between purchasing power and prices by increasing consumer purchasing power with credits which do not appear in prices in the form of a price rebate and a dividend. Formally called a "Compensated Price" and a "National (or Consumer) Dividend", a National Credit Office would be charged with the task of calculating the size of the rebate and dividend by determining a national balance sheet, and calculating aggregate production and consumption statistics." "Based on his conclusion that the real cost of production is less than the financial cost of production, the Douglas price rebate (Compensated Price) is determined by the ratio of consumption to production. Since consumption over a period of time is typically less than production over the same period of time in any industrial society, the real cost of goods should be less than the financial cost. For example, if the money cost of a good is $100, and the ratio of consumption to production is 3/4, then the real cost of the good is $100(3/4) = $75. As a result, if a consumer spent $100 for a good, the National Credit Authority would rebate the consumer $25. The good costs the consumer $75, the retailer receives $100, and the consumer receives the difference of $25 via new credits created by the National Credit Authority. The National Dividend is justified by the displacement of labour in the productive process due to technological increases in productivity. As human labour is increasingly replaced by machines in the productive process, Douglas believed people should be free to consume while enjoying increasing amounts of leisure, and that the Dividend would provide this freedom."
- cutchin 7y agoThis story has stuck with me for years. Any time I've over-promised what I could deliver or stand to miss a deadline or am otherwise stressed out by situations of my own creation it comes back to me. This website often focuses on ambition and furiously chasing one's dreams, but it's nice to have reminders that in the end, it's the small comforts and relationships we've built that really matter.
- perfect_kiss 7y agoWhat's fun enough, Tolstoy has another story, "What Men Live By", which was usually published alongside "How Much Land", and says just the same things about comforts, relationships, and generally love, which really matter: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6157/6157-h/6157-h.htm#link2H_4_0001 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6157/6157-h/6157-h.htm#link2...
- abyssin 7y agoThanks for sharing this story! I just finished reading it and it's a good reminder that we live together and depend on each other's help and support.
- newnewpdro 7y ago> in the end, it's the small comforts and relationships we've built that really matter. Or maybe none of that matters at all, since we all die alone one way or another, it's the journey and not the destination. Life is to be lived, experienced, and one could argue dying abruptly in aggressive pursuit of your dreams is ideal.
- awb 7y agoNot sure why you're being downvoted. It's a very valid point. There's a common saying that you can't take your stuff with you when you die, but you can't take your memories or relationships either. There's plenty of reasons to cultivate relationships in the present moment without justifying it by anticipating regret on your deathbed if you don't. And there's plenty of reasons to spend this life enjoying time with yourself. There are lessons you can learn only in deep relationships and lessons you can learn only through extended time by yourself. I wouldn't be prepared to call a life lived in isolation and in harmony with nature a regretful life at all.
- dddumbcomment 7y agoI'm reminded of https://superhex.io/ https://superhex.io/ and https://splix.io/ https://splix.io/
- cmcaine 7y agoThese links are unrelated spam, I think. Why this comment? I don't see a report button.
- mirekrusin 7y ago- how much is enough? - little bit more...
- elcomet 7y agoIn french (Le Moukik Pakhom): http://www.metafora.ch/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Tolsto%C3%AFPakhom.pdf http://www.metafora.ch/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Tolsto%C3%...
- discreteevent 7y agoAntony Beevor mentions this story his book about Stalingrad. It's in reference to Hitler's stategy on the Eastern front.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- cmrking 7y agoIt’s funny how HN is all capitalists when it comes to startups, but once you mention land or housing they suddenly all become communists.
- lukaa 7y agoI'm glad that Tolstoy found it's place on hacker news. His Christian anarhisam and nonviolence doctrine influence basically all civil right heroes in 20 century. But it is funny how Georgisam is selected. Just wonder could it be related with high property price in bay area.
- notlukesky 7y agoA security warning for those who have an account on this site. Please do NOT set up an account or log in as the signup/login page lack SSL (https). All passwords will be sent in clear text.
- redandblack 7y agoWe had a translated and simplified version of this story for my Tamil class in elementary school - and distinctly remember this and a few others. So much so, that I googled a few years ago to realize that the original was from Tolstoy
- bmn__ 7y agoThe story is reminiscent of the http://enwp.org/The_Fisherman_and_His_Wife http://enwp.org/The_Fisherman_and_His_Wife archetype. It teaches the concept of "good is good enough" and the consequences of greed.
- GordonS 7y agoHah, I read that to my kids last night, and the article also reminded me of it!
- anoplus 7y agoWhat a coincidence. Yesterday I searched for short stories on the web, to read before bed and saw this one. Now in HN.
- Tepix 7y agoThis story reminds me of playing the board game "Deep Sea Adventure" ( https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169654/deep-sea-adventure https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169654/deep-sea-adventur... ) with some friends. In this game you try to get as much treasure as you can from the sea bottom floor. At the same time you share your oxygen supply with your competitors. We managed to run out of air three times in a row! The final round was particularly amusing: When the players noticed that (only) one player had a chance of making it back to the surface, they made sure to use up the shared oxygen supply since they were doomed anyway. Fun game, give it a try. Also quite educational, just as this excellent short story.
- epaga 7y agoAbsolutely love this short story, it really gets under your skin. In one sense, I'm pretty sure it's a riff on Jesus' parable of the rich fool (recounted in Luke 12:13-21). In both cases, the sudden & unexpected death of the main protagonist shocks you into thinking through their (and by extension your own) value system.