(4.) The landlord may sell[74] his land, invest the proceeds in any other way, and thus get interest on his capital.
(5.) The tenant can get rid of rent, either:—
(a) by borrowing money to buy land, in which case he has to pay interest on the loan;
(b) by saving sufficient money to purchase land, in which case he might, instead of purchasing, invest the money, so that its interest would pay the rent.
(6.) In any case the whole question of rent resolves itself into a question of capital, and interest thereon.
(7.) Law, from time immemorial, has recognised the right of property in land.
(8.) In most cases the owner has paid hard cash both for the land and for the improvements of it.
(9.) Land is therefore actual capital just as much as money, coal, iron, cattle, or any other disposable commodity.
It is absurd, therefore, to say, that a man possessing capital in land may not act in the same way as the owner of any other form of capital. (Of course he has his moral obligations, but those are applicable to the possession of any other form of capital.) If the tenant desires capital, he must work for it, or obtain it in some legal manner. If he get it in any other way, it is theft; and any legislation that transfers the capital of the landlord to the tenant without due compensation, is legalized theft.