American Prestige E221 - Land Power w/ Michael Albertus
Aug 5, 2025
Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago and author of 'Land Power,' dives into the pivotal role of land ownership in shaping societies. He discusses the historical impact of land from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural societies, contrasting indigenous land relationships with those of European colonizers. The conversation also covers gender disparities in land rights in Canada, South African land reforms, and the need for innovative property models in capitalism. Albertus sheds light on how evolving notions of land can influence social dynamics and environmental solutions.
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Land’s Role in Shaping Society
- Land ownership shapes human history and modern society profoundly.
- Permanent agriculture 12,000 years ago enabled surplus and social hierarchies based on land.
Medieval Land and Surplus Extraction
- Land became more productive and unequally distributed from the Bronze Age onwards.
- Enclosure created hierarchical relations enabling a small elite to extract surplus from land workers.
Indigenous Land vs European View
- Indigenous peoples had spiritual and diffuse connections to land, unlike European private property concepts.
- Colonizers did not recognize indigenous land relationships, justifying dispossession legally.
