agriculture & property

[http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert (Robert)]

I was thinking more about our conversation last night.

I don't really have a good vocabulary to describe this all, but I try to
make due in my explanation below.

I think things can be boiled down to:

  dependency + distrust => possessiveness (or property)

When there is a dependency upon a particular mode of an essential life
activity (reproduction, energy (including food), shelter, etc), then it
becomes less easy to adapt.  And there has to be a certain amount of trust
to let someone partake in a limited resource so that it is understood that
the action will likely be reci_procated.

So, dependency upon the mode of agriculture for providing energy (food)
and a general distrust of some set of people (probably people outside a
certain group (which can be a tribe, a community, a family or a "group of
one" a.k.a. an individual)), then, yes, in that case, the concept of
property will arise.

But, overall, this is all a greyscale, not black-and-white, because there
can be different levels of dependency and varying webs of trust.  If the
term "starkness" is used for this perception of something being
black-and-white, then if there is a high level of starkness and less
tolerance of ambiguity, then there can be the modern concept of property
where something (or someone, sometimes) is completely "owned" by someone.