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It turns out the thing that Picketty missed was that he grouped land with Capital. Land should be treated differently as it can not be created or destroyed. If

by iNic 3y ago

It turns out the thing that Picketty missed was that he grouped land with Capital. Land should be treated differently as it can not be created or destroyed. If you seperate out the data into land and capital (w/o the land) then all of the outsized returns come from rich people hoarding land[1]. This is in line with the observations of Riccardo[2]. [1]: https://www.salon.com/2015/01/02/joseph_stiglitz_thomas_piketty_gets_income_inequality_wrong_partner/ https://www.salon.com/2015/01/02/joseph_stiglitz_thomas_pike... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_rent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_rent

burkaman 3y ago
Sorry if this is nitpicking, but valuable land absolutely can be created (Boston) and destroyed (climate change) on human timescales. I'm sure the amount of land that can realistically be created and destroyed within a few lifetimes is negligible compared to the amount of land in existence, but compared to valuable inhabited land it might actually be significant. Coastal land tends to be pretty valuable, and that's where (almost) all the creation and destruction occurs. Edit: Actually, the interview you reference is not even really talking about land. > When you say “land,” you’re not talking about land in the Jane Austen sense, that is, agricultural land under the ownership of the lord of the manor, right? > It’s not agricultural land, it’s the value of urban land. Obviously urban land can be created and destroyed as cities expand and contract.
- tomwheeler 3y ago
  The Netherlands has also created quite a bit of land. Chernobyl is an example of land that was effectively destroyed by becoming uninhabitable.
- dr-detroit 3y ago
  [dead]
- yterdy 3y ago
  It's not nitpicking, it's central to the issue. One could consider that, as far as Western civilization is concerned, colonialism was an exercise in "land creation" - and the various wars of the 20th century, temporarily in the case of bombings and permanently in the case of mine-setting, a type of "land destruction". Picketty doesn't miss.
- iNic 3y ago
  Yeah, I'm talking about land in the Henry George sense. Maybe a better word would be "natural resources". In this framework you don't just have Labor and Capital, but you have Labor, Capital and Land. Labor uses Land to create wealth, and Capital gives Labor the tools to be more effective in wealth creation.

by iNic 3y ago

burkaman 3y ago

Sorry if this is nitpicking, but valuable land absolutely can be created (Boston) and destroyed (climate change) on human timescales. I'm sure the amount of land that can realistically be created and destroyed within a few lifetimes is negligible compared to the amount of land in existence, but compared to valuable inhabited land it might actually be significant. Coastal land tends to be pretty valuable, and that's where (almost) all the creation and destruction occurs. Edit: Actually, the interview you reference is not even really talking about land. > When you say “land,” you’re not talking about land in the Jane Austen sense, that is, agricultural land under the ownership of the lord of the manor, right? > It’s not agricultural land, it’s the value of urban land. Obviously urban land can be created and destroyed as cities expand and contract.

tomwheeler 3y ago
The Netherlands has also created quite a bit of land. Chernobyl is an example of land that was effectively destroyed by becoming uninhabitable.
dr-detroit 3y ago
[dead]
yterdy 3y ago
It's not nitpicking, it's central to the issue. One could consider that, as far as Western civilization is concerned, colonialism was an exercise in "land creation" - and the various wars of the 20th century, temporarily in the case of bombings and permanently in the case of mine-setting, a type of "land destruction". Picketty doesn't miss.
iNic 3y ago
Yeah, I'm talking about land in the Henry George sense. Maybe a better word would be "natural resources". In this framework you don't just have Labor and Capital, but you have Labor, Capital and Land. Labor uses Land to create wealth, and Capital gives Labor the tools to be more effective in wealth creation.