Re:Home ownership is the West’s biggest economic-policy mistake
by throwaway316943 on Tuesday April 20, 2021 @02:29PM
(#26878913)
How much of that intrinsic value is still there once everything is paved?
Re:Home ownership is the West’s biggest economic-policy mistake
by Viliam1234 on Tuesday April 20, 2021 @04:44PM
(#26881373)
There is a concept called "path dependence". Something may be important to get you from point A to point B, even if at point B you perhaps don't use it at all.
You start with a place with nice fruit trees near the river, then a few people build their houses there, then someone builds roads and a port, then someone builds larger houses, then someone builds factories... and at some moment in the future, there is a huge city, but the river is poluted and the trees were cut down.
There is another place with no trees and no river. Hundred years later, there is no city.
No. People don't raise armies to steal land that's worthless. If you're going back to pre-history then the land near a nice river that has plenty of game, isn't predated by larger animals, and has nice fruit trees is worth way more to a person than some section of desert.
If right to live on land also goes with rights to exploit resources beneath the land then disparities in value as you approach the industrial era become massive.