Scotland Moves Against Wealthy Gentry Who Dominate Land
Centuries-old traditions that led to 430 people owning half of Scotland's privately held land are soon to become history as local communities seek to double their ownership in the nation known for its rugged landscape, sheep, and fine whisky.
While inequality of land ownership is more often associated with developing nations, Scotland embarked on a campaign to ensure land was an asset for the many, not the few, with a landmark bill introduced to the Scottish parliament in 2015.
The move came amid growing tension over the dominance of large, often absent, land-owners whose hold over the country dates back to an era when Scotland was a largely agricultural nation run by the wealthy gentry.
"This is about local communities taking control over their own destiny from absentee landlords," Peter Peacock, a former member of the Scottish parliament, campaigner and co-author of a briefing paper on the reforms, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Scotland's land grabs took place a couple of hundred years ago ... now communities are trying to get some balance of ownership."
more
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/real-estate/scotland-moves-against-wealthy-gentry-who-dominate-land-n553051
= new reply since forum marked as read
The primary push for land reform in Scotland is to break up the large estates that have primarily allowed land to go "unused". Note that "unused" is a neoliberal capitalist term for "we can't profit from it".
The article itself alludes to the changes that the ownership will be causing, where it discusses how "young people" are being encouraged to "live" in the highlands by communities that want a "voice in their development".
Translation for those who don't speak marketerese: "The communities want to build more single family homes for young people, in their peak buying years, to improve the economies of those communities. Capitalism requires growth, and growth requires land." This sentiment can also be condensed as "Fuck the environment, we want Euros."
If the Scots really gave a flying shit about absentee owners, they'd claim the land and convert it into parks and commons so that all the people can use it. That's not what happening. Instead, they're seizing the land from these centuries old estates so it can be handed over to developers.
As the last quote from the article says: "You can apply to a community trust for a parcel of land, and effectively get it for free and build your property"
Or, to put all of this another way. In the map below, Gold represents land owned by average Scot people and farmers. White represents lands owned by the government. Red by the large estate holders. These changes aren't about converting the land from red to white (i.e., take it from the aristocrats for all the people), but about converting it to gold, so the land can be plowed under and built on, just like the rest of the country.
But don't worry, they're fucking the environment "for the people"...or something. Enjoy those shots of the natural, empty Highlands while you can, because in another decade those hillsides are going to be covered in hobby farms and vacation homes.
Yay people!
