I do agree that good stewardship of the earth and its resources is of utmost importance. When I refer to homesteading, I am talking about Rothbard's explanation in "The Ethics of Liberty" wherein a human can own land by homesteading it and utilizing it. For example, growing crops or mining for minerals, etc. Obviously there is a limit as to how much a person can physically homestead a property. According to this idea, it would be impractical for one wealthy person to homestead thousands of square kilometers as he cannot possibly maintain such a vast swath of land. That is why Queen Elizabeth has no moral claim on the vastly pristine lands of Canada. She is not working or utilizing that land at all, so how can she claim that it is Crown land?
A good example I like to use of homesteading in practice is the case of an outdoor concert. As the first to arrive I select an area of grass to sit on. It appears that I "own" the entire park. As others arrive, they naturally pick another spot on the grass, leaving me with less. This continues until the entire park is filled with people all claiming their own spot. I, as the first, cannot possibly argue that the entire grassy area is mine as my butt is not that big. It's interesting how humans can do this without some authority dictating where to sit and how much space to take up; it just happens naturally. Of course, this is just an example of the natural order of homesteading as neither I, nor the other concert goers, own the park, but I think you get the idea.
Lastly, I did read and enjoy your 'ON' article. It would be very interesting to see such a development unfold. One point though is that the plot of land that these 'neighbourgoods' are located in, does need to be claimed. Again, if I and 50 other homesteaders are setting up an 'ON', by definition we own that plot of land (whether solely or collectively through shares). As owners of this private property we choose (because it is in our best interest) to be good stewards of the land. Somebody else cannot make a claim on that same plot of land due to the homesteading principle (perhaps the adjacent land, but not the one in use by us). I do not see how land can have 'person-hood' as it does not have consciousness and thus cannot express its will or otherwise launch an objection.
Exactly! I love the analogy with a concert in the park. So, simple and elegant! Thank you :)
I was unfamiliar with "The Ethics of Liberty" or the homesteading principle (it seems). I just called it stewarding :) However, I am going to read up on that today! Thank you!
You will, I'm going to be sharing here the process of creating it. We're going to be launching it in Northland New Zealand or Bali next year. Fortunately, with the few people, we have on board we have enough capital to do it!
My distinction was the private vs personal property distinction. However, I like the term homesteading and may adopt that after reading more into it :)
This is done through representation by a lawyer, completely capable in our legal systems. :) There are plenty of quantifiable metrics we can gather to see what is harmful to an ecosystem and what is not. So, if we can measure harm, we represent that ecosystem in court. Although, this is only a temporary measure in our present paradigm, it would hold no value in the future systems i propose.
Exactly!! Beautiful eh?
So, you read it and you have so far been generous enough with your insight! Do you have any other critiques to offer? I know it was a surface explanation (it was meant for an audience entirely unfamiliar with the concepts) however, I am curious if you notice any flaws?
I'll be releasing more details of the systems as I make them steemit friendly. I have let myself get distracted by all the die-hard-ayn-rand-capitalists on this platform.
Thank you for reminding me what my true focus here is :)
It is my pleasure to share what I can. I will be reading more of your posts as I now follow you, so once I absorb more of the idea, I will definitely provide constructive feedback. It's fun to challenge the mind this way :)
If you are interested in Rothbard's work, a lot of it is available at the Mises website. The Ethics of Liberty can be found in PDF format: https://mises.org/library/ethics-liberty.
BTW, I did notice one of the homes that you featured in another article. Was that an Earthship? I recall seeing one constructed over 20 years ago in a remote Ontario town. I found it a very fascinating use of old tires and pop cans as part of the construction. I also like the off-grid nature of it all.
Best of luck with the ON venture. I'll be sure to read up more on it. Thanks for sharing this interesting information.