Towards a New Socialism by W. Paul Cockshott & Allin Cottrell

Author:W. Paul Cockshott & Allin Cottrell [Cockshott, W. Paul & Cottrell, Allin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Economic Policy, Marxian Economics, Post-Communism, Socialism, Political Science, Political Ideologies, Communism & Socialism
ISBN: 9780851245447
Google: Io8EAQAAIAAJ
Publisher: Spokesman
Published: 1993-12-15T05:16:22+00:00

Ground rent

We refer elsewhere to the system of property relations required to support our conception of the socialist economy (see chapter 14). This involves state ownership of land. While we do not rule out the private ownership of part of the housing stock, the state should retain ownership of the land on which the houses stand. Home owners should be liable for a ground rent based upon the current rentable value of the land used for their house. Under these circumstances somebody who buys a house is just buying the fabric of the building, and the price paid for a house of similar size and standard of repair in London should be the same as that in, say, Bradford. Over and above the price, the occupier pays a rent or land tax to the state, reflecting the difference in convenience or amenity of the house they are using. Such rents could make a significant contribution to the finances of the state5.

If these rents are to perform the macroeconomic function assigned to taxation within the system discussed above, they clearly have to be assessed in labour tokens. Payment of labour-token rents then constitutes one exception to the general principle that these tokens buy only the products of labour, priced according to their labour content.

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