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 creat

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.