The Law is an Anagram of Wealth

It is with great pleasure that we inform you that this session of the webinar series will feature Prof. Dr. Benjamin Davy, visiting professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg, and at the School of Architecture and Spatial Planning, TU Wien University.

Abstract

The title of an Anne Clark record (2008) captures nicely how material wealth depends on the existence of a legal system. My lecture will focus on the relationship between land uses, land values, and land law. Classic economists already were aware that wealth cannot be enjoyed in a sustainable fashion without property rights and the effective protection of the courts. According to Marx (1894: 772), the different forms of rent have in common »the economic realization of landed property, the legal fiction by virtue of which various individuals have exclusive possession of particular parts of the globe.« The exchange value and use value of land emerge as a result of institutions which approve of the possible and profitable uses of the land. In von Thünen’s world, the highest bidder prevails with her best use of the land if this use is secure. Without a land right, there is no land value. Joan Robinson asserted that »the right to exploit territory is the archetypal form of property. The whole structure of a society is affected by the rules of the game in respect to land tenure and inheritance« (Robinson 1965: 283). But the rules of the game of land uses are neither simple nor free from bias: »What we call land is an element of nature inextricably interwoven with men’s institutions. To isolate it and form a market out of it was perhaps the weirdest of all undertakings of our ancestors« (Polanyi 1944: 178).

References

Anne Clark (2008) The Law is an Anagram of Wealth. Spv Recordings.
Marx, Karl (1894/1991) Capital. A critique of political economy. Volume III. Introduced by Ernest Mandel. Translated by David Fernbach. London: Penguin Books.
Polanyi, Karl (1944/1957) The great transformation. The political and economic origins of our time. Boston: Beacon Press.
Robinson, Joan (1965) The accumulation of capital. 2nd edition. London, Melbourne, & Toronto: Macmillan.

Biography

Ben Davy is visiting professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg, and at the School of Architecture and Spatial Planning, TU Wien University. He was professor of land policy, land management and municipal geo-information at the School of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University. Ben was president of the International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights (PLPR) and the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP). Among his books are "Essential Injustice" (1997) and "Land Policy" (2012). Currently, he works on land reform, land use ethics, and the dignity of human and non-human animals.

Prof. Dr. Davy's book:

Format

Prof. Davy will be speaking for the first 45 minutes. We will then be holding a Q&A Session.

This session is part of the larger project:

Dissecting Capitalism: Its past, present and future

This series aims to explore the tenets of capitalism over the fabric of time and examine its influence on the global economy and social classes.