A history of the problems associated with land ownership and the "land question" in the modern world. A solution to the injustices will be facilitated by the implementation of Land Value Taxation as proposed by Henry George

1. Putting the country on the road to economic justice and prosperity: Land Value Taxation Presentation by Dr. J. A. Ainsley

2. Act I

3. African society is suffering from a crisis of land ownership

4. The State is losing popular support due to failure to tackle this issue.

5. There is a contrast between modern and traditional ideas about land

6. Land ownership needs to be seen to be equitably distributed

7. Land Value Taxation will resolve the crisis

8. Act II, Scene 1

9. Land ownership has presented problems throughout history

10. Kenya’s land problem starts from colonial times

11. In pre-colonial times land ownership was communal

12. The Colonialists introduced the private ownership system

13. The Independence Government did not solve the land problem

14. Land problems started before Christianity and continued with it

15. Land ownership became concentrated even in ancient times

16. In Medieval Europe the situation worsened with the Enclosures

17. Europe’s landless peoples either starved or emigrated to America

18. The spread of European civilization to America extended the problem

19. Landlessness is now the normal situation in the world

20. It is now also an urban problem

21. The Industrial Revolution coincided with urbanization and the slums

22. Slums are now mainly a developing world phenomenon

23. The urban elites contribute to the urban housing problem

24. Land monopoly leads to misery for the majority

25. Attitudes are changing so as to give the urban poor security of tenure

26. Act II, Scene 2

27. Land ownership is first an ethical matter then an economic one

28. Religious tradition and Ethics can enlighten us in this matter

29. The Church Fathers were opposed to concentration of land ownership

30. Ethics shows that land cannot be “owned”

31. Common Law contradicts Civil Law on some land ownership issues

32. Economics and Private Good clash with Ethics and the Common Good

33. Individualised land tenure has advantages over communal tenure

34. Private ownership causes a dilemma by harming the common good

35. It is the community which gives land its value

36. Act II, Scene 3

37. Land Value Taxation will solve the problem

38. Land Taxation has been successful wherever it has been applied

39. It has several beneficial effects

40. LVT benefited agriculture in America, Taiwan and Australia

41. LVT has benefited cities in America and Asia

42. Land Taxation effectively converts freehold into leasehold

43. Land Taxation rates will not need to be high

44. Land Taxation will help to solve several problems specific to Kenya

45. Land-grabbers will be forced to offload unused land onto the market

46. LVT will assist the State to enforce regulations for good land usage

47. There are several obstacles to the implementation of Land Taxation

48. The greatest obstacle is widespread ignorance of the nature of land tenure

49. The large landowners have always been opposed to any land tax

50. Land speculators, banks, the car industry etc. will all oppose LVT

51. Act III

52. So, is an equitable distribution of land in Kenya possible?

53. Ignorance and powerful vested interests threaten this distribution

54. The Government must implement Land Value Taxation

55. LVT will put the country on the road to economic justice and prosperity

56. Closing image for end of presentation