Owning Land

[thriller]

Would it be hypocritical to own land in the current system and still call oneself a communist? I was talking to a friend about this. I kept saying, 'yes, it would be.' But he brought up the point that if one is still a worker, it's not that hypocritical because at least the bourgeoisie is not using the land for exploitation (rent, plunder of resources, etc). So it got me thinking. I think it is wrong to own land, because I'm a communist. But I'd like to think workers, under the current system, should get what they want for their families.

[Dogs On Acid]

It has been said over and over on this forum. Communism isn't lifestyle.

[Tim Cornelis]

Why would it be hypocritical if you own the land you cultivate? There's no contradiction.

If you owned land and then hired others to cultivate it it could be seen as hypocritical, but even then one could argue that "communism isn't a set of ethics for living under capitalism" (with which I disagree).

[The Jay]

It would just make them less under the heel of the bourgeoisie.

[DeBon]

What if someone buys a chunk of land to grow food on to feed himself? Or a group of people buy a piece of land to collectively share? It's all in what the owner of the land does with it.

[Comrade Marcel]

As long as you are not harming oppressed people, or super-exploiting them, or acting directly with anti-communist or contra movements, than no.

Remember, Engels was a capitalist. After Marx died he ran a factory.

There can a lot of discussion around these sorts of things, i.e. can you be revolutionary + gangster; etc.

Many leftists will have different viewpoints, some will even support cops who are so called communists (I do not, I definitely draw the line at pigs)....

The main line should be drawn at the question of how he/she would react in the face of genuine revolution; will they flinch and defend their privilege or will they give it up for the revolution?

[eric922]

On the topic of Engels running a factory, are there any sources showing how he treated his workers? I'm assuming he tried to treat them as well as he could under a capitalist system.

[The Idler]

Didn't Robert Owen own land and factories too?

[Nox]

Owning land is a ridiculous concept when you think about it.

Nobody owns land.

[thriller]

Owning land is a ridiculous concept when you think about it.

Nobody owns land.

That's my feeling on it too. It's everyone's land to share. But as far as people 'buying the rights to it' or how ever you want to look at it, people could share it with others for farming or what not.

[The Jay]

When people say that they own land it only means that the government will fight on behalf of the "owner" if someone tries to use it without permission.

[tfb]

Can a communist have money? Can a communist buy things? Can a communist live in a country? Can a communist work for the bourgeoisie?

There aren't many good options yet. Don't worry about it.