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Owning the Earth: The Transforming History of Land Ownership
Barely two centuries ago, most of the world's productive land still belonged either communally to traditional societies or to the higher powers of monarch or church. But that pattern, and the ways of life that went with it, were consigned to history as a result of the most creative - and, at the same time, destructive - cultural force in the modern era: the idea of individual, exclusive ownership of land. This notion laid waste to traditional communal civilisations, displacing entire peoples from their homelands, and brought into being a unique concept of individual freedom and a distinct form of representative government and democratic institutions. Other great civilizations, in Russia, China, and the Islamic world, evolved very different structures of land ownership, and thus very different forms of government and social responsibility. The seventeenth-century English surveyor William Petty was the first man to recognise the connection between private property and free-market capitalism; the American radical Wolf Ladejinsky redistributed land in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea after the Second World War to make possible the emergence of Asian tiger economies. Through the eyes of these remarkable individuals and many more, including Chinese emperors and German peasants, Andro Linklater here presents the evolution of land ownership to offer a radically new view of mankind's place on the planet.
496 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 7, 2017
An excellent history of a topic that is usually considered secondary, but which Linklater argues is far more primary to much of history. The emphasis is on the relationship of land ownership and land reform to democracy and social justice, but there is also a lot about the views of various cultures on land ownership and about the taking of land from aboriginal people who held it communally by cultures that focus on individual land ownership.
Linklater shows that even today, when agriculture is a relatively small part of advanced economies, the 2008 crash came out of the treatment of real property as an investment vehicle no different from stocks and bonds. As for the future, the huge purchases of land in Africa and Latin America for investment purposes is bound to make a difference there.
There were times when I felt Linklater was stretching his argument a bit, but they were few.
Linklater shows that even today, when agriculture is a relatively small part of advanced economies, the 2008 crash came out of the treatment of real property as an investment vehicle no different from stocks and bonds. As for the future, the huge purchases of land in Africa and Latin America for investment purposes is bound to make a difference there.
There were times when I felt Linklater was stretching his argument a bit, but they were few.
July 3, 2020
This book was amazing, and is now the long nonfiction book that I will forever be trying to convince my friends, family, and anyone who will listen to read. I won't lie -- it's dense. Even as I was reading it, I knew I was going to have to read it again. But, it's masterfully and lovingly written, spanning centuries and often diving into the lives of seemingly random individuals, resulting in many surprises and, honestly, revelations. So many things clicked into place for me while reading this book, and I feel like I can now see history through new eyes.
I came to this book as someone who believes that land use is at the core of almost every issue, and now believe that ownership is as well. I wish that the last few chapters hadn't flown by so fast, and that Linklater were more prescriptive in policy solutions. It seems like he eventually comes down on the side of heavy regulated capitalism? And that we were headed in an alright direction in the early/mid 20th century, making do with the now-entrenched English land ownership model, but all that was ruined by the US/UK embracing Hayek's economic philosophy?
I did really appreciate that Linklater approached this history as someone trying to find answers (specifically, trying to find answers about the 2008 financial crisis), and not as someone trying to support a preconceived conclusion. I wasn't interested in reading a book about land ownership that didn't strongly condemn the horrors of colonization/imperialism, or wrestle with the questions of capitalism. Linklater delivered. My only critique is that the book is extremely focused on the history of *private* land ownership, and thus very Euro-focused, and doesn't talk as much as I would've liked about other land ownership models.
I'm left with more questions than answers, and wish that Linklater were still around today for me to ask. Tldr; read this book!
I came to this book as someone who believes that land use is at the core of almost every issue, and now believe that ownership is as well. I wish that the last few chapters hadn't flown by so fast, and that Linklater were more prescriptive in policy solutions. It seems like he eventually comes down on the side of heavy regulated capitalism? And that we were headed in an alright direction in the early/mid 20th century, making do with the now-entrenched English land ownership model, but all that was ruined by the US/UK embracing Hayek's economic philosophy?
I did really appreciate that Linklater approached this history as someone trying to find answers (specifically, trying to find answers about the 2008 financial crisis), and not as someone trying to support a preconceived conclusion. I wasn't interested in reading a book about land ownership that didn't strongly condemn the horrors of colonization/imperialism, or wrestle with the questions of capitalism. Linklater delivered. My only critique is that the book is extremely focused on the history of *private* land ownership, and thus very Euro-focused, and doesn't talk as much as I would've liked about other land ownership models.
I'm left with more questions than answers, and wish that Linklater were still around today for me to ask. Tldr; read this book!
May 4, 2017
It's very rare I drop a 5* review. But oh my goodness. I feel like every few pages Linklater manages to open my eyes to some new facet of global history. Writing with a powerful political neutrality, Linklater's work is readable, verging only very occasionally on the poetic, and comprehensively footnoted.
As Linklater explains, so much history of the world becomes a history of economics, and economics is measured fundamentally in growth. But the land, and the simple question of how it is owned and by whom, paints a picture of history and the future that may be imperative to our understanding.
As a work so incredibly wide in scope, there are obviously some sections that felt painfully short. The Russian Revolution in particular seemed almost cursory in how it was handled. But it's hard to complain when there's so much amazing stuff in here.
A book that has changed how I feel about the world.
As Linklater explains, so much history of the world becomes a history of economics, and economics is measured fundamentally in growth. But the land, and the simple question of how it is owned and by whom, paints a picture of history and the future that may be imperative to our understanding.
As a work so incredibly wide in scope, there are obviously some sections that felt painfully short. The Russian Revolution in particular seemed almost cursory in how it was handled. But it's hard to complain when there's so much amazing stuff in here.
A book that has changed how I feel about the world.
June 16, 2017
Ranks with Piketty's "Capital" as a must read. Traces the effects of property ownership on human culture over the past 500 years.
The book is dense with information and is meant for an audience above the 12th grade reading level. But does not require a degree in either history or economics.
Linklater says that he started the book in 2009 in an attempt to come to terms with the financial collapse of 2007-8, but by the time he published in 2013 he was as current as today's New York Times.
The book is dense with information and is meant for an audience above the 12th grade reading level. But does not require a degree in either history or economics.
Linklater says that he started the book in 2009 in an attempt to come to terms with the financial collapse of 2007-8, but by the time he published in 2013 he was as current as today's New York Times.
December 20, 2020
Absolute tour de force, detailing the history, and more interestingly, philosophy behind land ownership and property rights, and how these are connected to political rights. This book focuses mostly on England and the US, from the dawn of the Enlightenment to the 2008 financial crash, but takes significant detours to Russia, China, other European regions, as well as Australia and Canada, comparing and contrasting land regimes over time in these countries. It spans from Locke and Rousseau to F Hayek and Alan Greenspan. (With a brief, obligatory shout out to Henry George 👊). I could wish for more consideration of land rights in more unique circumstances such as modern Israel, and more consideration of contemporary gentrification and housing shortages. But for what it does, it does very well, and likely in a way you've never thought of before.
June 3, 2021
Incredible depth and detail. Eye opening book on history, geography, philosophy, politics. So interesting.
July 5, 2022
While this book takes an incredibly wide-ranging look at the history, philosophy, politics, and economics of land ownership, it is essentially a long-winded apology for Communism.
January 9, 2022
It was very interesting to see just how much influence the concept of private property has had on the way people see themselves and on the ideas people have about the role of government. I was also impressed by the way he connects so many of the events in world history to the way that the land is owned, and the relationship between the way that the land is owned and the form of government that exists. He did not convince me that the private property system is the best, but he did convince me that the private property system has done a lot of good because it has in many cases led to democracy and has given the dispossessed the tools to regain possession. But is private property the only way to get to democracy and universal human rights? I also think the concept of “exclusive ownership” of the land could encourage us to not respect the land.
I would have liked to know more about the communal systems of land ownership which existed before private property, because they, like private property, seemed to do a good job of balancing individual need with group need, and unlike the private property system, also seemed to in some cases be based around a respect for the land. I would also have liked to know more about his thoughts on the relationship between private property and capitalism. He seems to take capitalism for granted, meaning he doesn’t seem to see any reason to look for a system besides capitalism, yet on the last page he dismisses all of economics as “unsustainable.” I agree that a system whose only goal is to make money, and from my understanding of it, to always be increasing the amount of money you make, is not sustainable or healthy. Yet can you have private property without capitalism?
The first several chapters jump around in time, and it was hard for me to get a sense of chronology. I think he could have written it chronologically and it would have been just as interesting. Maybe it would have been even more interesting, because he would have built up to the birth of private property, and we ourselves would already understand how groundbreaking it was, because we would already know about what existed before and for how long.
I would have liked to know more about the communal systems of land ownership which existed before private property, because they, like private property, seemed to do a good job of balancing individual need with group need, and unlike the private property system, also seemed to in some cases be based around a respect for the land. I would also have liked to know more about his thoughts on the relationship between private property and capitalism. He seems to take capitalism for granted, meaning he doesn’t seem to see any reason to look for a system besides capitalism, yet on the last page he dismisses all of economics as “unsustainable.” I agree that a system whose only goal is to make money, and from my understanding of it, to always be increasing the amount of money you make, is not sustainable or healthy. Yet can you have private property without capitalism?
The first several chapters jump around in time, and it was hard for me to get a sense of chronology. I think he could have written it chronologically and it would have been just as interesting. Maybe it would have been even more interesting, because he would have built up to the birth of private property, and we ourselves would already understand how groundbreaking it was, because we would already know about what existed before and for how long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2021
Absolutely brilliant global history of land ownership and the rise of private property societies. Linklater deserves credit for tying together sections on the US, Russia, China, France, Mali, Australia, and a host of other countries where private property has spread as a concept (a concept which he proves to be a strange but viral anomaly in human history). He makes a compelling argument for land rights, rather than industrialization, culture, or any other factor, as the breeding ground of democracy. He notes the US' fundamental mistake in equating human and property rights, and the political and economic fallout from making property rights unassailable. My quibbles are his relatively uninformed dismissal of tribal or customary land ownership systems as inefficient by reducing them to landlord-farmer relationships that betray a Western bias. And while his extension of the land analysis to the modern industrial home is apt, his forays into patent law and intellectual property feel like a bit more of a stretch. It's remarkable, though, that this book started as an attempt to pinpoint the causes of the 2008 financial crisis; that says a lot about the primacy of land in determining our economic and political futures.
April 7, 2019
A really good book analyzing the history of land ownership and specifically the evolution of individual, rights-based property. The author covers the creation and gradual change and convergence of property rights in a series of interesting examples including the Roman Empire, Britain, the United States, Eastern Europe, China, and many more. The work is underpinned by a series of macroeconomic theories. The book ends with a compelling comparison between property rights and intellectual rights, and how the future of property might look like. Highly recommended if you are interested in the covered topics.
March 22, 2017
A different look.
Middle class Americans may assume that people's relationship to the land is the same everywhere and for all time. This isn't true. Not being a land owner makes one vulnerable to the inclination of those that do.
Middle class Americans may assume that people's relationship to the land is the same everywhere and for all time. This isn't true. Not being a land owner makes one vulnerable to the inclination of those that do.
October 28, 2014
My book review in the International Socialism Journal 144
http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=1...
http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=1...
March 12, 2019
Really good read, although I did start it a couple years ago and stopped partway for reasons I can't remember...
It covers what I'd understand to be the process of primitive accumulation. How the land changed from various type of ownership and use to a single one, private property, and the impact this has had (mainly the development of capitalism).
I felt the most interesting parts, and most researched, were the early developments of land as property, in Britain and North America. The theories and idealisms, contrasted with the reality and effects that actually occured; the 'battle' between the human freedoms and property. Obvisouly whatever was said as the goal has to be taken with a pinch of salt because these were very easily dismissed or adjusted when needs be.
The more recent trends discussed, ~20thC, were less detailed but provided some interesting case studies of how the spread of private property was engineered, and contrasted with collecvtivisation.
And finally he talks about the current age of provate property as it seeks more and more land to expand into, through mostly wester investment funds. and intellectual property as the new property battleground, and it's effect on stiffling innovation.
Overall this is very good book, not always easy to follow due to the desnity of the subject but always interesting, and really provides a great history of land and it's importance in resource allocation and the world economy.
It covers what I'd understand to be the process of primitive accumulation. How the land changed from various type of ownership and use to a single one, private property, and the impact this has had (mainly the development of capitalism).
I felt the most interesting parts, and most researched, were the early developments of land as property, in Britain and North America. The theories and idealisms, contrasted with the reality and effects that actually occured; the 'battle' between the human freedoms and property. Obvisouly whatever was said as the goal has to be taken with a pinch of salt because these were very easily dismissed or adjusted when needs be.
The more recent trends discussed, ~20thC, were less detailed but provided some interesting case studies of how the spread of private property was engineered, and contrasted with collecvtivisation.
And finally he talks about the current age of provate property as it seeks more and more land to expand into, through mostly wester investment funds. and intellectual property as the new property battleground, and it's effect on stiffling innovation.
Overall this is very good book, not always easy to follow due to the desnity of the subject but always interesting, and really provides a great history of land and it's importance in resource allocation and the world economy.
December 28, 2025
Five stars. Linklater makes a persuasive case that exclusive private ownership of land is not a timeless norm so much as a contingent institutional invention. Powerful, portable, and surprisingly fragile. What I loved most was the comparative sweep. You see how different ownership regimes do not just allocate wealth. They shape credit, state capacity, and political development.
The Poland sections really drove home how precarious the “English path” was. In some respects Poland sits uncomfortably close to an ownership model that could have turned land into capital, but because ownership remained locked within the nobility, land could not function the same way as collateral for broader development. The result was a hardening of serfdom rather than a broadening of property-based liberty.
I also appreciated the contrast between successful land redistribution in postwar Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea and the very different agrarian and institutional dynamics in places like tsarist Russia, where communal structures prioritized egalitarian redistribution over land as capital in ways that shaped everything downstream.
The author’s take on the Green Revolution and the Middle East was unexpected and thought-provoking too. Overall, if you are interested in how property rights, finance, and political institutions co-evolve, and how easily the modern model could have gone another way, this is a terrific read.
The Poland sections really drove home how precarious the “English path” was. In some respects Poland sits uncomfortably close to an ownership model that could have turned land into capital, but because ownership remained locked within the nobility, land could not function the same way as collateral for broader development. The result was a hardening of serfdom rather than a broadening of property-based liberty.
I also appreciated the contrast between successful land redistribution in postwar Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea and the very different agrarian and institutional dynamics in places like tsarist Russia, where communal structures prioritized egalitarian redistribution over land as capital in ways that shaped everything downstream.
The author’s take on the Green Revolution and the Middle East was unexpected and thought-provoking too. Overall, if you are interested in how property rights, finance, and political institutions co-evolve, and how easily the modern model could have gone another way, this is a terrific read.
June 24, 2017
A fascinating look at world history through the lens of land ownership and its impact on world political structures and people generally. I can't think of another book I've read that connects all the dots of (my fragmented knowledge of) world history so convincingly. The author started out trying to explain the crash on wall street and eventually realises that land ownership - or lack of it - is the catalyst for much of the worlds progress and conflict. To me, it's well written, well researched, and amazingly insightful. A unique perspective and - on the whole - a seemingly balanced approach. It doesn't feel agenda driven, though he certainly leans towards the earth being for all, more than the few. But who can truly argue otherwise? It traverses the globe and the centuries with more ease than I thought possible. I've read Capital and valued the experience and the empirical arguments, but this... this is far more accessible, far more enjoyable to read, and far more enlightening. I feel like I understand why this crazy world is like it is a little bit better than I did before I read it. Another keeper. This is one for the home library.
January 21, 2026
Far-reaching, erudite, and illuminating. There’s a sort of ecological aspect to this book, like everything is related to everything else. At least, contemporary political economy is in large part shaped by how the earth is owned. Did 1500s enclosure of the English commons cause the 2008 financial crisis? The author would say yes, at least indirectly. I love a book that provides context to human affairs-there is a never-ending chain of cause and effect in the quest to understand why things are the way they are.
The prose is approachable in spite of the density and sheer volume of information. My one gripe is that within chapters there is a bit too much jumping around the timeline; my feeble brain gets lost.
Two things I wish Linklater were still around to investigate: what does this history look like 10 years after the book’s publication as we live through the Trump era; and, how does the concept of human land ownership relate to the rights of all the non-human beings who also have a home on the land.
Definitely worth a spot on the politics/economics section of everyone’s bookshelf.
The prose is approachable in spite of the density and sheer volume of information. My one gripe is that within chapters there is a bit too much jumping around the timeline; my feeble brain gets lost.
Two things I wish Linklater were still around to investigate: what does this history look like 10 years after the book’s publication as we live through the Trump era; and, how does the concept of human land ownership relate to the rights of all the non-human beings who also have a home on the land.
Definitely worth a spot on the politics/economics section of everyone’s bookshelf.
July 24, 2022
Seems to be a good overview of what it describes! My main takeaways:
- Realized that the idea of property ownership as an unalienable right is really truly foundational to the foundation of American ideology, based especially in Locke, and that I don't really believe it.
- Understanding that everywhere in the world before the 1700s,having authority over land was not absolute. A lord might get the benefit from the crops, but was in turn expected to care for the workers
- owning land also led people to take more pride in their homes
- extending ideas of land ownership to things like intellectual property have been harmful
- seeing land as capital to be invetsed in, improved, and managed is part of what drives economic growth. People didn't necessarily do this before land was "owned" the way we think of it now
- Realized that the idea of property ownership as an unalienable right is really truly foundational to the foundation of American ideology, based especially in Locke, and that I don't really believe it.
- Understanding that everywhere in the world before the 1700s,having authority over land was not absolute. A lord might get the benefit from the crops, but was in turn expected to care for the workers
- owning land also led people to take more pride in their homes
- extending ideas of land ownership to things like intellectual property have been harmful
- seeing land as capital to be invetsed in, improved, and managed is part of what drives economic growth. People didn't necessarily do this before land was "owned" the way we think of it now
March 10, 2020
Vast amounts of novel information in a novel viewpoint
While I thought this book was going to be an excellent prequel to the fascinating Measuring America, I was totally unprepared for the historical and geographical reach of the treatment. The combination of coherent argument with legal, philosophical and economic history is irresistible. I cannot say whether the author is completely correct in the primacy of land ownership, but I learned so much about so much that it almost doesn’t matter!
While I thought this book was going to be an excellent prequel to the fascinating Measuring America, I was totally unprepared for the historical and geographical reach of the treatment. The combination of coherent argument with legal, philosophical and economic history is irresistible. I cannot say whether the author is completely correct in the primacy of land ownership, but I learned so much about so much that it almost doesn’t matter!
February 1, 2021
Excellent history of the various types of land ownership and their effect on freedom, output, wealth, industrialization, and the establishment of democracies. So many important economic decisions have been made throughout history without considering the type of ownership and its effect on the success or failure of their policies.
The first half is a bit of a struggle but gets more interesting in the last half of the book.
The first half is a bit of a struggle but gets more interesting in the last half of the book.
March 17, 2024
A fascinating book that also includes an element of memoir from the author's experience in communes in New England as a young idealist (ultimately disappointing) to living in a Kentish half-timbered farmhouse improvements to which he concludes must have arisen from enclosure and sheep farming. He lays out the benefits that come from registered land ownership. Sadly a lot of that land was stolen from the native inhabitants by invaders.
July 1, 2023
I really tried to get through this book, it's well researched an an interesting and timely idea. However, I found the writing to meander through various citations of history without some concept to tie the ideas together or to relate it to the present. There's an overall thesis statement, but nothing that really ties these ideas together.
June 26, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I was digging the history of the world through the lens of ownership of private property... but in the end the detail obscured the message. I lost the plot about a third of the way through...
August 2, 2018
Sometimes you really can tell that what you are reading is just a tip of the iceberg of knowledge. Andro has managed to convince me that a big part of social history is very connected to the way land was owned.
A very important book.
A very important book.
May 29, 2017
Easy to read. Comprehensive content.
Recommended for those who are interested in Social Sciences, not for engineers.
Too much "British".
Recommended for those who are interested in Social Sciences, not for engineers.
Too much "British".
February 7, 2018
This book is full of wonderful insights into the way land ownership has shaped the history of nations and the world.
March 17, 2019
This was a difficult read for me. It took two years!
June 13, 2021
After reading Simon Winchester’s ‘Land’ I was hungry for more and found this masterpiece that compliments so well that the two books have morphed into one. Looking forward to reading again.
September 1, 2021
I liked enough to go buy it. I love books that show how seemingly small things can lead to huge shifts in what we consider 'normal'.
November 18, 2022
I really liked this book but I read it maybe five years or more ago and don't remember much about it. Need to refresh myself.
July 19, 2017
Absolutely best book I've read in a long time. Thoroughly researched and documented, clearly and concisely written. Readable at high school level or above and should be mandatory for anyone in the fields of economics, finance or land management.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews