What is geoism?

Geoism is the insight that people have equal rights to what nature provides for free. Geoists believe that people should not be forced to pay for their place on earth. The best way to organize this seems a Universal Basic Income funded by a Land Value Tax.

Geoists also believe that individuals should be able to make their own choices and opt out from unwanted interactions. Geoists believe that dictating other people how to live their lives is not only morally wrong, but also leads to bad outcomes.

Most geoists envision a society in which ordinary people have the opportunity to run their own small businesses and own their own homes, making them largely independent of landlords and employers. Because our current form of ownership of the earth is the driving force of poverty and inequality, this approach offers a framework for a much more egalitarian society. Sustainability issues should be addressed, but in a fair way that recognises liberty and equal rights to the earth. There is no need for a big government that monitors many aspects of our lives. Instead, equal rights to land and other natural resources and freedom would be the keys to a better society.

Why do we need geoism?

Geoism offers tools to protect our freedom while solving problems such as poverty, inequality, exploitation and sustainability issues.

Poverty and inequality

Our current form of earth ownership is the thriving force behind poverty and inequality. Most people don’t become poor because they are lazy or stupid, but mainly because they lack access to natural resources such as land. Many people have to pay a significant part of their income to landlords for the space they need to live. Some people can barely make a living because they have no access to natural resources such as arable land. Geoism is the best way to fix this.

Affordable housing

Young people are getting desperate from the lack of prospects of ever owning a home. The current pyramid scheme is unsustainable. Geoism is the only sensible way to solve it.

Sustainability

Yes, sustainability issues should be addressed. But it should be done in a way that does not create new opportunities for the well-connected to gain monopolies or unnecessarily damage our freedom.

Liberty

Even if there are good intentions, the result of curtailing freedom is usually disappointing. Therefore it is important to say no to authoritarianism. People must have the option to opt out from unwanted interactions. The one thing that almost all distopian societies have in common is that this is impossible. Liberty and how we own the earth are strongly connected: without access to natural resources such as land our liberty is under thread.

Independence

People should have the option to opt out from unwanted interactions. Not only authoritarian rulers, but also bosses or landlords can have unavoidable positions.

A thriving economy with small business

Geoism would allow small businesses to flourish. Geoists are not against big business, but regulation and land monopoly can give big business an unfair advantage over small business.

World peace

Once a significant proportion of the world’s population believes that people have equal rights to the earth, world peace should be within reach.

Is this a new idea?

No. The brightest and friendliest thinkers troughout history have described geoism long ago. The most famous of them might be Thomas Paine (Agrarian Justice, 1797) and Henry George (Progress and Poverty, 1879).