Summary
Category: business
The article discusses historical attempts in early America to implement collective property ownership, which did not succeed. It explains that initial settlers in Jamestown and Plymouth experimented with shared land and resources, but this approach led to poor outcomes like starvation and laziness until they adopted private land ownership, improving productivity.
Key Facts
- Cea Weaver, a New York City housing appointee, suggested transitioning to a collective property model.
- Early settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, tried a collective property system in the 1600s.
- This communal approach in Jamestown led to high levels of starvation and death.
- Settlers did not work effectively under the shared system, leading to a lack of food.
- Assigning private land to settlers increased productivity significantly.
- After moving to a private property system, Jamestown settlers grew tobacco, a profitable crop.
- A similar collective model was attempted by settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but faced challenges.
