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It’s my land – I paid for it

Written on . Posted in What is land?.

Not so. The value of your land arises because

  1. the state protects land titles by the rule of law
  2. the state defends the realm
  3. a state of civil order exists in which the community respects property rights and
  4. the taxpayer pays for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure which keeps your land in a usable condition. Since much of this infrastructure is out of sight and out of mind, it is understandable that you forgot about it.

If you really thought your land would be worthless tomorrow you would not have bought it today, and nor would anyone else. That they are willing to do so is an affirmation of their belief that the circumstances listed in (1) to (4) above will continue. Without that state of affairs there would and could be no free market in land.

Why is this so often forgotten? Why didn’t you notice?