Application Of All Economic Rents To Public Purposes And A Solution To The Media Problem

21 Feb 2020

Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. -The Communist Manifest

This was the first point in the list of demands in The Communsit Manifesto, and it is still applicable today as a demand. Here I will argue for a Land Value Tax on all land and the economic rent collected towards exclusively public purposes, as well as collection rent on the broadcast spectrum for similar purposes.

A land value tax in the period of transtion can act as effectively state ownership of land, assuming you set the rate a level that would tax mostly or all of the economic rents receieved by the land owner. This in effect would be the same as the state collecting the rent itself, depriving the land owner of income. Of course this tax could be progressive, so small or family farms would only pay a small amount or none, which might be something needed for broad popular support.

The rent collected should then be used towards exclusively public services, which could be any number of things like childcare services, healthcare, investments etc. I would argue the best use of these funds would be towards co-operative buyouts, and startup for co-operatives. Rent confiscated from land owners could go directly towards workers co-operatives, further distancing workers from the propertied class for their survival. Workers should then have rights to buy out their businesses by means of a vote, where a yes vote will allow them to use the funds to buyout their workplace. Of course the funds may not exist for all who wish to buyout at any given time. Here a randomly drawn board of workers could sort through cases and create an ordered list depending on the circumstances at hand.

But all of this is totally meaningless without the right to directly vote on taxation and spending. Along with rights of referendum and initiative, the public must be able to directly on levels of taxationg, and what proportions of public expenditure should go to each of the public services. This is an example of why a program and it’s demands need be interconnected, supporting each other, and building upon others, as well as the importance of timing and order. A program of mismatched demands, without a clear motion forward is doomed from the start. It should be directional, haveing demands be supported by eachother with a clear path towards a goal.

There are also other benefits of a land value tax. Any unused or underused land would have to be developed by the owner in order to pay the tax. This would act to bring up efficiency in the use of land and to develop plots of land where productive activity could be taking place, but it is sitting vacant. It is also a very effective tax measure, as it is nearly impossible to evade. Land can’t be tied up in an offshore bank account, it’s necessarily in one place, and the landowner is necessarily tied to that place. These facts are already known and used in property taxes today.

Of course in media another public resource is used, the broadcast spectrum. Similarly a rent should be collected on use of the the public airwaves, be that in the form of television, or radio. Perhaps the rent could be based on advertisment revenue, but I am not completely sure on what the best option for this would be. Any ideas on that would be appreciated. These funds again should be put exclusively towards public use, and again I think would best put towards startup of independent media co-operatives and buyouts of existing media companies. Worker owned, local and not for profit media is sure to be far more balanced than the current media industrial complex with it’s constant bourgeious propaganda and complete corporatization of film, music, arts and news.

Overall these demands would amount to publicizing land ownership, with the public having full say in amount and final purpose of the economic rent collected, while expanding worker ownership across the board. It would also bring media under effective public control, with major media companies bought out or no longer able to profit from adervtisement, while media co-operatives could receive continued investment based on public interest. These are certain to falicilate the issuance of further demands, especially in land ownership. Meeting the Kautsky criterion depends on the right to direct voting on taxes and expenditures has been won, since without this it is just a state institution over and above the body of ordinary people, not keeping the goals conciously in view.