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The world is in a mess.
This is hardly surprising because all our thinking is a mess.
Open most books on philosophy and they rest on axioms, or unproven assumptions. In other words, they are built on foundations of sand. The few books that attempt a foundation of pure logic are too impenetrable to be of practical use (I'm looking at you, Wittgenstein).
This page is an attempt to build a simple philosophy based on the bedrock of pure logic. We start with nothing, and work in clear, short steps. Above all, it is practical: it leads to a simple way to create an ideal world.
This page is not yet perfect! I am sure you will find errors. If you can do better, please show me how: create a better version and let me know on the blog.
If you want to support this research, please visit my other site, EnterTheStory.com.
Thanks for reading.
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There is no pure "nothing" in the universe. Every place has a position plus random particles.
It cannot exist even in concept: to exist in concept would require a theory, and a concept or theory is something.
So a concept exists.
Note that this concept does not require a person to think it,
as this concept has no shape or form.
"Nothing" means "no thing." So two concepts exist: "thing" and "not."
"Thing" and "not" are different. If "thing" is white then "not thing" could be black.
Then we have three concepts: "thing," "not thing," and the border between them - in this case color. Imagine if color did not exist: "thing" and "not" would be two different whites. But two whites, together, are just white.
Similarly, if two "1"s exist, then only the concept of "1" exists. To be different we need the third concept, "number."
The same logic applies to the new concept. Each difference is defined by being different. but what is "difference?" Is it just "itself?" Then it is "1" because "itself" is the definition of the first item. Is it just "not"? Then it is the second thing, by definition, and so on.
"Difference" can only exist if there is something else beyond everything we already have. By looking at it it spawns something new each time. And so the logic continues: 1 creates 2, 2 creates 3, 3 creates 4, and so on.
Each "not" has no meaning beyond being an addition to the previous not. And so a simple number line exists.
In order to define a particular number you must first define all previous numbers.
So different numbers are different distances apart, and these distance can be measured.
We saw that numbers are defined by being different. But later numbers are different as well.
There
are different potential changes between numbers: e.g. we can count 1 at
a time, or a million at a time. These potential changes can be called
energy.
If we take an energy of (for example) 1 million steps at a time, this creates a new number line.
The
number line is like a book (with sometimes very large pages!) Any point
in this "book" may be defined by two dimensions: page (x) and letter
(y).
So any point can be defined as by 2 dimensions: like big step/page and small step/letter
We can call these "x" and "y" and write it as an equation: all letters on page 5 are y =5x.
By the same logic, higher dimensions exist, and any point represents many equations.
E.g. point D may be 3A + 22B +6C, and also represent all possible values of E.
So an infinite number line exists, containing infinite energies, infinite dimensions, and infinite equations
This can be called a "computational universe" or "digital physics" (look it up on Wikipedia!)
With so many possibilities, advanced math is needed to explore what patterns emerge. This is the realm of theoretical physics. (Experimental science will be discussed later).
Note that theoretical physics is usually based on a one dimensional start: string
theory has one dimensional strings whose energy is interpreted as ten
other dimensions. Alternatively, the "reducing dimensions" theory says the number of dimensions increases as
the energy of the universe reduces. Note also that the energy of space reducing
means the energy of each particle increases: energy is conserved.
Shapes are merely collections
of points: so equations are shapes. E.g. we can visualize "5x" as a
straight line on a graph. We have already seen that these shapes
include distance. So this computational universe contains shapes of all kinds and all dimensions.
All of these dimensions are connected by the first dimension. That is, any point may be traced to any other point by stepping back through all the changes until they are the same. We can call this first master dimension "time".
Note that all interactions and
all connections involve time.E.g. if a human steps back
through time eventually they are part of their parents. If we step
forward in time we may connect with other people or objects. When we
see something it is because a photon of light at some later point is
part of our eyes. All things are connected via the initial singularity
(the big bang). Note that equations tend to create straight
lines or smooth curves, so events in time tend to move along smooth
paths.
Take a point in space, e.g. 3x
+ 5y. This point represents all possible values of any higher
dimension, e.g. z. So, within that point 3x + 5y,
any value of z can look on the other values as "me at a different time"
or "me if I was in a different place." Hence different points can be
the same point in different circumstances.
When the same point is at
different places at different times, we have velocity. When the same
point has different velocities at different times, we have acceleration.
As Einstein showed, very large
quantities of static energy are called mass. Hence different aspects of
the initial number line can be seen as time, energy and also mass.
Some equations create repeated identical features. (e.g. sine waves). More complex equations produce more complex repeated features. E.g. string theory produces multiple equations that allow a one dimensional line to create ten dimensional particles which then behave like familiar electrons and other particles.
Force is simply a mass experiencing acceleration (F = ma). What we call physical is simply the existence of force (e.g. preventing a hand from passing through a rock). And so a physical universe exists.
The universe is made of all
possible values of "is" and "is not." For each value, all other values
are "not." So each is a point of view.
Each value is "the only
existence" from which all other points are "not": that is, alternate possibilities that recede
into the distance. This is a definition of "I am."
All possible numbers exist, so
all possible universes exist. We do not know which one we are in until
we look (i.e. until a time when our equations connect) - see
science. Note that this randomness is most clearly
seen at the very simple level, hence quantum physics.At a complex level so many
particles are linked that only one outcome is likely. at least in the very short
term.
Anything complex is made of simpler parts, so there are more simple things than complex things.
So if you do not know which thing you have, it is more likely to be simple than complex. Note that the
universe is collections of equations, so this statement is not as flippant as it
may seem.
Many of the equations that make
up reality are chaotic. That is, results become massively more complex with
time. So the information required to define the universe at any point
will increase. (The perceived arrow of time is another topic.)
Due to chaotic equations,
moving down in time will always lead to fewer options and a
simpler, more predictable universe. Moving up in time will lead
to more options and a more complex, less predictable universe. So the two directions are not the same.
Note:
consciousness exists to make hard decisions,
so conscious beings will always focused on the hard
direction: so to us, decisions involve the future, as if time
moves forwards.
An infinite quantity of chaotic
equations
will create all manner of
complex forms. Some of these will be self replicating. That
is, arrangements at one point in time produce similar
arrangements at
another point.
Right and wrong mean true and
false, logical mathematical statements of "is" and "is not." So to a
living creature, they particular refer to conditions that make its own
existence more or less likely. For why we care about family and
friends, see life after death.
In an ever changing universe a
good survivor must see ahead and change before a danger arrives. So a
good survivor must either be simple and very fast to adapt (e.g.
viruses, insects) or have intelligence.
Sometimes we must compare
several ideas together. These ideas are stored in short term memory:
consciousness is awareness of these six or seven ideas. Applying
Occam's razor, consciousness is short term memory. Note that
consciousness can draw multiple ideas each second from memory, the
body, the senses, etc.
Consciousness exists to aid survival. So each idea is linked to possible actions and "right" or "wrong." Humans can perform many actions in many contexts, so the result is a complex mix.
Examples can be simple
(e.g. "eat is right," "stay awake is wrong," "bathroom is right,")
or complex: ("something is wrong but not sure what," "I recall
a childhood memory when
everything was right"). Usually the seven items in short term
memory have a mixture of states, but in extreme cases everything
screams the same message,
e.g. the panic of everything being wrong ("we're all going to die! Run!
Now!"), or the ecstasy of everything being right ("yes yes yes!").
In order to decide we need data
on the universe. The universe is complicated and uncertain, but observation plus logic can reduce the
possibilities. Note that observation requires senses: e.g. eyes detect photons that include data from other objects.
We have limited knowledge and power, so trust tradition and form groups under leaders. Also, we find complex ideas hard to process, so use stories and metaphors. These are imperfect, and their errors are highly visible (because they are larger than individuals) but on balance the group knows more than the individual, and some people can do more than other people, so this policy can aid survival.
Note that a
religion is an alternate nation state, providing alternate grouping and rules.
Its foundations must be ambiguous and other worldly in order to avoid conflict
with the geographical state.
The question of free will is
the same as causality: Who is responsible for an action? Science
answers this: measure before and after, compare control groups, and see
if the person made a difference.
Structures often require different structures in order to exist. We can call these "resources" or "food."
For example, the
equation of a line, ax+b, requires a completely different line (ax)
plus a constant (c). Obviously
our universe of particles and forces requires vastly more complex math than that!
Resources, in the process of
time, can become one thing or another thing. E.g. food becomes part of
a body. If resources are limited, this leads to conflict: "it's him or
me!" Unchecked, this leads to theft, war, murder, rape, etc.: "I take
what I
want!" But see morality.
Resources need not be limited because time is not limited, and intelligence gives unlimited options. E.g. if we need energy then we can do science, make deals, and find non-scarce alternatives. So good survivors create schemes to maximize resources and long term planning -i.e. morality.
Long term survival implies all
the elements of morality: cooperation, humility,
trustworthiness, respect for others, good karma, trade
rather than conflict, etc.
Life is defined as reproducing
itself. But many threats exist that, once they arrive, it may be too late to stop (pollution, war, asteroids, etc.) So the
number one purpose of life must be long term survival - in other words,
intelligence and morality.
The physical body constantly changes: from baby to child to young adult to old person. Most cells die and are replaced every few months. The conscious mind changes even more frequently. The permanent part, the thing that lasts from birth to death is the genes and fundamental memes (the ideas laid down while young or at major turning points). The body, then, is just a carrier that constantly regenerates.
The future me person is a different person, So is my future child. Which is "the real me"?
Compare a baby to the same person when very old, just before death. How similar is the body? How similar is the mind?
Now compare a person to their son or daughter at the same age. How similar is the body? How similar is the mind?
So our body is only a secondary carrier of our soul or spirit. The primary carrier is family.
Note to
the childless: genes are spread via the extended family so they still
survive. Even the most remote human shares 99 percent of your genes, so the focus should then be on spreading your ideas.
You are genes and memes. Both are billions of years old, based on our planetary environment.
Technology,
if we wish, will allow us spread to the stars and live
forever. Note that every event in time is eternal: We share
our world with photons that do not experience time or space: to them we
are all together in the singularity before the big bang, experiencing
all possible universes forever.
Each of us is "I am." The universe is the sum total of all "I am"s. Everything that the Bible and other major religious texts say about God seems to describe the universe: The universe created and sustains us all. If we learn its laws (direct from the universe itself) then we can end all the world's problems and have whatever we want. Many would call that love.
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Here we will derive a perfect economy from a single word: property
Economics is based on the concept of property. However, legal property is is based on tradition, not science or logic. It thus inherits generations of error and short sighted self interest. With such weak foundations the economy will also be weak.
However, a perfectly logical definition of property does exist.
It is used by science and logic. It is perfectly sufficient as an economic definition, as I will show.
Everything in this section derives from this one word. It can be defined in just seven words:
Anything is the sum of its properties.
E.g. a
square is a shape with four straight equal sides: the sides are its
properties. Or a baker is defined as someone who creates baked goods: the
creation of baked goods is her property
Properties are measured by seeing what changes when a thing is not there. E.g. Does your presence or absence make any difference to the number of baked goods? You may be a baker.
A laborer's labor is his
property. Similarly, the laborer owns the properties of his labor: he
owns the results, the things he makes. Note:
this confirms John Locke's idea that we own or labor and its results.
Everything is a sum or its properties, so that includes properties themselves. E.g. a
laborer works (the work is his property), but he would not have done it
without his employer. So the property is shared. We can measure the relative amounts as described above.
If you add value to the
community then that is your property. Note that this supports
the common idea that private property is justified by its
benefit to the community. I.e. you
deserve exclusive rights to your $1000 of land because you add $1000
value to the community.
Actions are properties of
whoever acts. So we are responsible for our actions, agreements,
mistakes, etc. Note that property is often shared - see measuring.
If more of a thing exists then more of its properties exist. So if you want the properties, then you want a thing with those properties. E.g. if you want the most valuable land, then you want people who make land valuable. Because land value is a property of people who create land value.
This may seem obvious, but our present economy opposes this. Under the present system land value is taken by whoever has the right piece of paper. The people who actually create the value are left with less than they create, making them weaker, and less likely to create more value. Meanwhile the paper owner gains more benefit from creating more such paper than creating wealth.
The existence of work for hire implies exchange, or in other words, choice: a worker chooses to do one thing (work) instead of another (free time) in order to increase his survival chances. So in this case time is exchanged for survival.
The properties of exchanges can be measured, and many will be similar (two workers may create identical wealth, or one worker may produce the same wealth in a given time). So a universal system of prices may be derived.
Concepts like the market, supply and demand, and profit and loss, depend on the extent to which people cooperate. In extreme competition, one group may monopolize all goods in order to starve another group. Whereas in extreme cooperation, any shortage leads people to simply change their priorities.
The range of possibilities is very complex, and so the ideal solution is found by experimentation rather than abstract theory. See "choose your own government."
Life is complex, so the possible ways of organizing life are also complex. So as with the question of markets, the ideal solution is best found by experimentation rather than abstract theory. See "choose your own government."
Competition and rival political theories lead to conflicting ideas. However, we saw that money can in theory provide a universal system of agreement. Yet we also saw that our present economic system is irrational. For how to establish agreement between conflicting nations, see the later discussion of land rent, and its results in good behavior, good neighbors, and no war.
It may be hard to find someone who has what you want and wants what you have, but a third person may have what you both want (e.g. a useful metal like gold). This person allows widely different people to make exchanges, and even store value for later.
If the banker is trusted to always make fair exchanges involving real values then the actual gold is not needed, paper or numbers may do instead. If however the banker is dishonest, or they rely on false value (e.g. paper ownership of land rather than increasing land value) then banking fails and anyone who relies on it also fails.
Governments can create wealth by making land more valuable. They do this by creating safety, roads, schools, etc. This value can be is measured, by comparing how much people will pay to live in a location, compared with the same building in some remote desert.
Wealth is the property of the person who creates it. Taxing work means taking someone else's property. This makes some wealth creation unprofitable, resulting in less wealth.
Rather than take the property of workers, which reduces wealth, governments can instead use their own property, which creates wealth. That is a rational economy. A later section suggests how to make the change.
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The first result of land rent is that all additional work is tax free. At present only work that earns 67% profit can be undertaken. In a rational economy all the work in the 1-66% profit range can also be done.
Unemployment in most countries is typically only ten percent. When the extra work is added to the other benefits listed below, the unemployed workforce is easily used up.
Land is easy to measure. There is no need to record how much work people do or how much they sell. Businessmen are now free to spend more time on wealth creation, and the smartest graduates can create new wealth instead of becoming accountants.
Land cannot be hidden. So all the tax avoiders must now contribute. This lowers taxes for previous payers.
All this extra tax free work pushes prices down, benefiting every sector of the economy.
As rental values are moved toward land and away from the individual's past tax, unprofitable land will be sold to people who can use it more efficiently.
Land value is the property of whoever creates it. Beautiful land increases the value of land around it, and ugly land reduces the value. This is all measurable. So those who create beautiful land are rewarded and those who create ugly land are charged.
Land rent encourages more efficient use of land, so cities will be more compact. This means more rural land, and public transport etc. are more economic as they have less distance to travel.
Also, the cost of improvements can be recouped from increased land rent, as long as its benefit exceeds its cost: any community that thinks it will profit from a new road can vote for it and get it: money is no longer a problem.
By adding a cost to land ownership, land will only be bought to be used, not for idle speculation. This reduces the idle speculation and assumption of unrealistic profits that fuels the boom and bust cycle. Meanwhile other business becomes more valuable, so most speculation is based on the real economy , creating real value and not bubbles.
In the short term the government will guarantee land, buying much of it,which is then available for entrepreneurs. In addition, any new business ideas that use no land will also pay no taxes. Many business ideas that were previously unprofitable now become possible.
Experimental new industries are by definition unprofitable in the early years. Also some of the most enjoyable businesses bring in low profit. So by allowing unprofitable businesses, land rent produces far more than just a marginal increase in wealth.
With no unemployment, less paperwork, and a more efficient economy, and ever more efficient government, government costs either fall, or rise more slowly than the economy grows. So land rent becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of national income.
While governments can guarantee land prices, they only need to guarantee them at previous expected levels (i.e. rising at perhaps 3 percent per year). New businesses make most profit from using less land, so the upward pressure on land prices will be very low at first. Eventually, as all useful land is used efficiently, this cheaper land will rise at the same rate as the economy (i.e. faster than before).
The first nation to adopt land rent will attract a massive wave of inward investment as foreign businesses take advantage of a tax free economy
Land rent was originally proposed by thinkers who objected to the injustice of rent free ownership. In the past a lucky land owner could get rich by doing nothing. This gave them an unearned advantage over the poor. They could also withhold land until its price rose, enriching themselves further at the expense of society. Finally they gained the most benefit from any state funded improvement such as new roads and railways. None of that is possible with land rent.
Each person profits only according to the value they add, and any unearned value goes to the community (through higher rents in order to gain access to the oil). So oil or other natural resources are efficiently used and benefit the whole community.
By providing full employment, and turning infrastructure into a local choice, core government costs are reduced.
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Land rent makes all government costs perfectly simple: just the cost of the land. This changes government into a simple business arrangement: the citizen pays the fixed amount "X" and receives "Y" in return.
Transparent costs allow power to be easily traded between citizens and government. Citizens can agree to pay extra in return for different rules, or can agree to supply some services themselves in return for lower rent.
Governments need money and votes. Governments that accept citizen deals, even on very small scales, will thus out compete other governments.
As more citizen groups make more deals, cities and regions will evolve with different political systems. So everyone can choose the system that most suits them as an individual, or set up their own.
Note that all such mini-governments will be good neighbors, because bad states increase costs for all their neighbors. That cost is the bad state's negative property, makings their own land rent prohibitively expensive.
Even poor citizens can choose a better government, because land rent is based on land area, not population. If your ideal state creates a lot of wealth, each person can have many acres of land. But if your ideal state creates very little wealth you simply live in tower blocks. These blocks will be attractive so they don't harm neighbors' land values.
When all kinds of governments exist their costs and benefits become clear. There is no need to debate whether libertarianism is better than socialism or whether a Christian state is better than an atheist state: every kind can be seen in action.
Land rent provides a simple measurement of the desirability of a state (how much are people willing to pay to live there). With so many states to compare, political science becomes a true science, resulting in continually better government for all.
Every action makes a location more or less desirable. So the true value of every action can be measured by land rent. With many states to compare, statistical analysis can estimate the true value of almost any action.
Under the current system, if you can find a way to gain money at the expense of others, and they cannot prove it, then you can keep it. In a complex economy you will generally not see the long term costs, and so you can assume you are perfectly honest.
Land rent allows the total long term cost or benefit to society of any action to be measured.
If people choose their own government they trust it. They are then more willing to share information. By tracing the true costs of actions, good information may be rewarded. This leads to a system where everyone gives an honest opinion, everyone has a reputation, and good and bad actions bring instant rewards. All of this creates a more honest, helpful and efficient society.
Better government, more trust in government and better information naturally leads to a more efficient legal system. This saves everyone money and provides greater justice.
Better information makes advertising more efficient, if it is needed at all. Instead of wasting a large part of the budget shouting at people who are not interested, products go to people who actually want them. Advertising revenue is replaced by direct revenue, because people are shown measurable benefits of using a product rather than wild claims.
At present, there are four ways to become rich:
Land rent removes all methods of gaining wealth except actually creating it. It also gives greater rewards for creation (full employment and no tax). So society is far more equal.
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A more efficient economy grows
faster, year after year. Soon the pure profit from a better
economy is bigger that the entire previous economy, and it goes on
growing.
What follows is only one way to change. They may be better ways.
The simple way to change is to value everyone's land (even if they only own a nominal square inch), at the total amount they currently pay in all taxes. This amount would gradually change toward a proportion of the actual market value of the land, as follows.
Land quantities are fixed, so as the economy expands land value increases more quickly. So land owners expect land to bring profits that exceed economic growth.
A land value based economy expands more quickly and land is used more efficiently, so after the economy adjusts, land becomes ever more valuable.
In the early years this profit will reduce because land owners pay land rent. However, the rent payable grows more slowly than the economy. Compound growth means the additional profit eventually becomes greater than the amount paid in land rent.
Any fixed costs of transition are insignificant compared with long range growth (see chart). Governments can therefore buy any unwanted land at full market rates, payable with bonds to expire at a future date when selling the land will pay all costs plus interest. This additional land is now available for entrepreneurs.
Land owners who require the land but do not wish to pay land rent can choose to sell land to the government and rent it back at the price they formerly paid as taxes. The government can later sell the land for more, so nobody loses a penny.
With prices guaranteed by government, and unwanted land bought by government (paid for by bonds that mature when the price rises) land prices are maintained as before. If the benefits of land rent do not appear then the land has the same value as before (plus normal interest) and can be returned with nobody losing anything.
Some industries, such as banking, pay a large amount of tax but use very little land. Their land rent, initially fixed at the previous tax rate, will reduce as follows.
First, the economy expands faster than before, so the rent shrinks in real terms.
Second, land rents are very slowly adjusted toward market rates. Market rates imply that owners can still profit from the land (or else the market rate would reduce). Much of this is through owners selling unused land to others who use it more efficiently.
The process accelerates as lower costs and more available land attracts new industry and foreign investment.
Taxation normally totals around 40 percent of value created. I.e. adding up income tax, sales tax, buildings tax, etc. So if an employer has an idea for a project that would cost $100 (without tax) he cannot hire someone to do it unless the finished work can be sold for $167 (because 167 minus 40 percent leaves 100). So taxation prevents all work that would have produced between 1 and 66 percent profit.
With land rent the same money is taken in by the government, paid for by the same 67% profit work being done, but all the 1-66% profit work is now profitable to the employer as well.
Note that rental on land is not a tax, it is a cost of resources. By using no land (i.e. consuming no resources) a business need not pay for it. The land is freed for those who can use the resource most profitably.
This additional benefit, freeing up land and encouraging existing land users to use land more efficiently, may result in even greater wealth creation, but is harder to quantify.
Those who earn less pay less income tax. However, they pay all other taxes in full (e.g. sales tax, and the increased cost of goods to pay for others' income tax). Also, if one group pays less then another group pays more.
The other group can afford it only because they make profitable decisions in the context of taxation. But that context means less profitable decisions are not made, resulting in unemployment. So taxation, even progressive taxation, creates the poverty it is supposed to reduce.
Taxation is defended on the basis that some activities naturally create surplus wealth. But when people have equal opportunities, they move to higher profit areas, thus reducing any surplus to the same market level. Apparently high profits then simply reflect greater risk (i.e. hidden losses).
Most land owners use their land in ways that benefit society in some way: for example by beautify the scenery. Beautiful scenery increases the value of adjacent land. This value can be measured as a property of whoever created it,and balanced against any land rent due.
If we simply assume that all landowners create value equal to land rent then we reward those who do not, and under-pay those who create more. Both errors reduce the wealth that a nation can create.
In a land rent system, if a government chooses, retired people and farmers can still be given rent free land in exchange for more expensive goods as happens today. Land rent simply measures the real costs and benefits that were previously ignored.
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By allowing individuals to choose or create their own ideal state, freedom and democracy are perfected.
If you choose you own government then you trust them. You also agree with their rules. You also feel responsible: their success is your success. In these circumstances crime is almost impossible.
Similar conditions already exist within businesses, close villages, and gated communities. Or if your ideal society is libertarian then your high walls and strong social capital and local militias have the same effect.
Happiness is increased when you can choose your ideal state, surrounded by people you like, with more money, good laws, and a better environment.
Land rent is just good business: everyone benefits, including the rich. So it will naturally spread. Tyrants are discussed later.
With land rent everywhere, everyone has more money. But there may be an even faster solution:
One or two of the new mini-nations will find ways to profit from open borders: at present a billion people live on a dollar a day. A well organized state could organize them to earn ten dollars a day and still make a massive profit. This would of course require great organizational skill. But if a few nations managed it then global poverty would be solved almost overnight.
As people become wealthier they tend to have smaller families and more pleasant houses. Most advanced nations have declining native populations, and governments provide incentives for childbirth simply to pay for the previous generation's pensions.
So as the economy improves and individuals become wealthier, world population will gradually decline.
As the third world adopts good land rent based government, the potential for improvement is very large. Large sections of the world could exceed ten percent annual growth for many years. The more advanced nations also benefit from the increased production, science, and trade.
If a nation grabs land, it can charge land rent. But he who pays the piper calls the tune: the rent payers will expect every penny of that back in the form of services. So the invaders gains no net profit.
Meanwhile the rent payers gain no extra profit either, because if they did others would move in and increase the land rent accordingly. True, that money pays for better services, but this just attracts more people, until the valuable land has the same value per person as any other land: it simply supports more people.
So land rent removes the incentive to grab land.
Land rent is politically neutral. It is simply a more efficient way of running a nation, so it can be sold to tyrants as a way to make a nation strong.
If full land rent is used then the people can choose their own mini states within a state. The small states are no threat to the parent state, and are kept happy with wealth. Gradually the tyrant evolves into a symbolic, constitutional monarch: loved by the people, wealthier than ever (because bribing an individual tyrant is a small price for freedom), never having given up his political views, and everyone is happy.
Land rent makes money a measure of goodness (it measures how much people want to be live by your laws). So unattractive states become weak. If the state blatantly causes harm when everyone can see then this makes the state untrustworthy, so less trade takes place, further weakening the bad state.
Compound growth amplified the difference. Most people want good lives, so only a small minority will be bad, making them not just weak but badly outnumbered. At every stage, any sane person will see personal benefit from joining the good guys. As the number of bad guys reduces the pressure to change increases, until the remaining bad guys are powerless and friendless.
Terrorism and nuclear threat are a subset of the war problem: nations and individuals desire freedom and land, and use force to get them. Land rent provides an easier way, so removes the cause.
Land rent also provides a better option for religious absolutists: if your way of life is really better, set up a model state and prove it. Meanwhile, wealth and justice from land rent deprives extremists of support from the poor and desperate.
When people can choose their own governments, "boom and bust" cycles become more dangerous: if politicians make decisions that are paid for by you children, your children will not just suffer (as now), they will leave and the nation ceases to exist. So nations must think longer term, or banks simply will not lend to them.
Note that this does not harm risk taking: there will be more billionaires than ever, willing to set up their own mini-states, take risks and try new ideas, because the potential benefits are so great.
Land rent fixes environmental problems in several ways.
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To be continued.
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Vote land rent.
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by Chris Tolworthy Revised December 2011
