this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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[–] pbbananaman 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Is it fair to call a 70 year lease from the government “ownership”?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

Nobody "owns" land. Even under capitalism. If you think you do, stop paying the ~~rent~~ tax you pay the government in order to "own" that land and see what happens.

Point is, even if you "own" a house, if the government decides they want to confiscate it, they have a whole army to do it. All ownership is always at the mercy of the government. (More accurately, ownership is at the mercy of whoever has the monopoly on violence, since they can only take ownership through it.)

[–] JargonWagon -2 points 14 hours ago

"...if the government decides they want to confiscate it, they have a whole army to do it."

This feels pretty random to include. Did I miss something? Has the army been kicking people out of homes lately?

[–] pbbananaman 0 points 16 hours ago

Just curious - what happens after that 70 years is up? I get to keep my property in perpetuity and pass it down generations as long as I pay my taxes. Is there any such guarantee in China?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Other than the set duration, all ownership is at the government's pleasure everywhere. Luckily, in a lot of places governments serve at the pleasure of voters.