[20] On Loria’s incorrect manner of reasoning, see B. Croce’s essay on “Le teorie storiche del Prof. Loria”, in “Materialismo storico ed economia Marxistica”. A much better opinion of Loria is held by Sombart (I p. 358). [↑]
[21] Wakefield, pp. 323–325. Marx (I pp. 795–804) gives a detailed account of the same argument as developed in another book of Wakefield’s, and adds that the exclusion of the mass of the people from the soil forms the basis of the capitalistic mode of production (ibid., p. 798). [↑]
[22] On the practical result of Wakefield’s plan, see Cunningham, English Industry, II pp. 603–607. Professor Cunningham justly calls Wakefield “a judicious and far-seeing man” (ibid., p. 605, note 3). [↑]
[23] Merivale, pp. 305, 313–317. See also Waltershausen, article “Negerfrage”, in Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, 2nd edition, V p. 973. [↑]
[24] See Dargun, pp. 49 sqq. Hildebrand (Recht und Sitte, pp. 134 sqq.) rightly remarks that in primitive societies the uncultivated land is not the property of the community, but nobody’s property (res nullius). [↑]
[25] Where the State owns the land and gives it in use gratuitously or at a low rent, the land is practically free. Such was the case in China, in the 5th century of our era, where the State gave allotments to farmers at a definite tax. “It is obvious, that the condition of the free cultivators without land could not become intolerable so long as they were able to rent in on the simple condition of paying the ordinary tax; and as long as the State had land to let on these terms, private agglomerators would be unable to get farmers to pay more to themselves; so that large estates could only be profitable on condition of evading the land tax, or being tilled for the owner by servile labour.” Simcox, II p. 127. [↑]
[26] “Destitute of land” is not the same as: “who own no land.” When the population is so scarce that even the most fertile land has no value, nobody owns land; but there are no men destitute of land, any more than in our countries there are men destitute of air or water; every one has land at his disposal. Only when every piece of land has an owner, can there be people destitute of land, i.e. who have no land at their disposal. [↑]