http://theunbrokenwindow.com/2008/05/28/when-everyone-owns-something/ The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. - F.A. Hayek Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:02:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://theunbrokenwindow.com/2008/05/28/when-everyone-owns-something/#comment-302 skh.pcola Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:37:43 +0000 http://theunbrokenwindow.com/2008/05/28/when-everyone-owns-something/#comment-302 The first English settlers in North America tried the communal thing. It failed miserably and people starved. When Gov. Bradford allocated farmland to each family/individual instead of expecting every person to share equally in the harvest, there were surplusses of harvest that could be bartered for other goods. Of course, some people make better farmers than coopers than smiths than carpenters, so this was an early example of division of labor being a net benefit to all. The first English settlers in North America tried the communal thing. It failed miserably and people starved. When Gov. Bradford allocated farmland to each family/individual instead of expecting every person to share equally in the harvest, there were surplusses of harvest that could be bartered for other goods. Of course, some people make better farmers than coopers than smiths than carpenters, so this was an early example of division of labor being a net benefit to all.

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