Sublime
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‘landed property’ is not actual soil, rocks or grass. It is a legal understanding, maintained by a subtle mix of morality and the threat of violence. In fact, land ownership illustrates perfectly the logic of what Rudolf von Ihering called the state’s monopoly of violence within a territory – just within a much smaller territory than a nation state
... See moreDavid Graeber • The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
the realities of private power created by industrialism.
Charles Reich • The Greening of America
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. ~ Proverbs 22:7 (NIV)
MJ DeMarco • The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime
We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do not wish to have, or avoid, things that other people control, because then you must serve as their slave. - Epictetus, Enchiridion (Chapter 14)
We can, at any rate, make this remark — that in the cities where the principal element of wealth was the possession of the soil, the rich class was longer respected, and held its dominion longer; and that, on the contrary, in cities like Athens, where there were few landed estates, and where men became rich especially by industry, manufactures, and
... See moreNuma Denis Fustel de Coulanges • The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (Illustrated)
The original modern housing finance system was designed with political goals in mind. In the words of William Levitt, the founder of the first postwar suburb, “No man who owns his own house and lot can be a Communist. He has too much to do.”8 This was a literal statement. People with a stake in society—a bit of property—do not rebel. People with no
... See moreMatt Stoller • Goliath
a huge amount of the value of the land is tied up with the permission to build on it.
Matthew Yglesias • The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think
For them there was no right of property; for all property was established and consecrated by a hearth, a tomb, and termini — that is to say, by all the elements of the domestic worship.
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges • The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (Illustrated)
the tech companies that greenlight transactions, communications, and online behavior have in many ways become the de facto privatized governments of the Western world.