Land reforms

Land reform is one of the least theorized areas of political-economic relations, because of the great historical differences in current land tenure systems. Nevertheless we can detect several distinct meanings for the term. Redistributive land reform is the most long standing demand, with social democratic or socially inclusive aims, sometimes adopted in a liberal and ameliorative manner. Accumulative land reform is these days a neoliberal phenomenon, squarely in the tradition of classical liberalism which has historically made use of inclusive idealism to advance sectional interest. At times it clashes with restorative land reform, a social justice demand of dispossessed indigenous communities. In that conflict we see resort to utilitarian arguments but also powerful lobbies pressing vested interest claims on state and community land. Those engaging with land reform debate must be conversant with these distinct meanings.