The thoughts behind the Renegade Ecologist

From my 30 years as a nature conservationist I have learned the utter futility of trying to protect nature under our current economic system. But by making some small changes to our taxation system we could make a world fit for our children to inherit full of wildlife & prosperity for all.

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root....
Henry David Thoreau
"In many ways, nature conservation has become just another method of rent extraction by landowners who are trying to hide the fact that modern farmers’ fields are essentially deserts, devoid of wildlife, and the taxpayer must pay ‘rent’ if we want wild animals to occupy ‘their land’."
Peter Smith

Land Value Tax, which is in my opinion the Holy Grail of legislative changes to protect wildlife, is the simplest expression of the Economic theories of Henry George. This theory goes that if we abolish all harmful taxes on our hard work and trade and instead charge a rent for the use of natural resources such as Land we will not waste them or allow private interests to exploit the rest of humanities access to them.

Such a tax would not only stimulate jobs and enterprise but put a value on all of our natural resources and force us to look after them. If it was implemented for agricultural land, where the lower value of perpetually designated wilderness or natural grazing land is reflected in its land value taxation, it would be the surest way to save the wildlife of the UK and for the least cost to the taxpayer”

This would mean hard to farm areas, steep banks, riverbanks, rocky outcrops and areas landowners want to designate a nature reserves, which must be legally binding, could be set aside for wildlife and as such attract no taxation. The result of this would be that unproductive and marginal land would become wildlife havens and receive long term protection for future generation to enjoy. But it would also take away land and monopolies from our plutocrats who own wealth with no obligation to the rest of society, these plutocrats fund both the red and blue (and Yellow) faction of the vested interest or ‘line my friends pocket’ parties that control the legislature in Britain.

This blog is dedicated to teaching those who love nature that there is a simple ‘magic bullet’ that can save the rare wildlife of this country at no cost to the taxpayer. This magic bullet will actually grow our economy and create jobs and help create a better society based on rewarding those who work hard while penalising idol people who make monopolies such as bankers and landowners.

The solution if adopted worldwide would alleviate poverty and starvation and make a significant contribution to preventing war and terrorism.

Follow me on twitter: @peetasmith

Views are my own and don’t reflect the views of Wildwood Trust

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

 Breaking the Grip of Monopolies: The Case for a Fair, Green, and Thriving Economy

The path to a fair and thriving economy does not lie in endlessly raising income taxes. Across decades, scholars and policymakers from left and right have warned that taxing labor, innovation, or enterprise alone only discourages productivity without addressing the structural roots of inequality. Instead, the true levers of economic justice lie in breaking the grip of monopolies and reclaiming unearned wealth captured through the control of land and other monopoly rents.




The Case for Land Value Taxation

The first step is the institution of a land value tax (LVT) on the unimproved rental value of land. Henry George, the 19th-century economist and social reformer, was the most famous proponent of this idea. In Progress and Poverty (1879), George argued that land’s natural scarcity generates unearned income for landowners, which, if captured through taxation, could replace the need to tax labour or capital. This principle, often referred to as “geoism,” has found support across political lines: Milton Friedman praised it as “the least bad tax” because it does not distort economic incentives, while left-leaning economists like Joseph Stiglitz have noted the efficiency and fairness advantages of capturing economic rent.

Implementing an LVT redirects unearned wealth back to society without penalising productive activity. Workers and entrepreneurs are not disincentivised; instead, housing becomes affordable, wages rise, and landowners can only prosper by genuinely serving tenants. In essence, competition shifts from extracting rents to providing real social value.

Extending the Principle to Other Monopoly Rents

Land is only the beginning. Similar principles can and should be applied to other monopolies: natural resource concessions, spectrum allocations, and even intellectual property can generate unearned economic rents that, if taxed appropriately, can fund society rather than enrich a few. Joseph Schumpeter, the economist famous for his theory of creative destruction, argued that monopolies could stifle innovation. Modern thinkers like Thomas Piketty echo these concerns, showing that unchecked concentration of wealth, often generated by monopoly power, undermines social cohesion and economic dynamism.

When such taxes replace traditional levies on work or enterprise, they create a virtuous cycle: markets are more competitive, efficiency rises, and inequality falls. This approach turns privatised industries effectively into “public trusts in all but name,” incentivised to operate for the common good rather than narrow private gain. As economist Mariana Mazzucato argues in The Entrepreneurial State (2013), aligning private incentives with public value is critical for sustainable and innovative economies.

Environmental Benefits and the Green Economy

The environmental implications of such reforms are equally profound. A land value tax discourages the misuse of marginal lands, making destructive agricultural or extractive practices uneconomic. In the UK, this could unlock potential for rewilding up to 40% of the land, restoring biodiversity and ecological resilience. Similarly, taxing externalities—pollution, carbon emissions, resource depletion—ensures that every economic transaction rewards sustainability, internalising costs that markets often ignore.

Notably, ecological economists like Herman Daly have long argued that integrating environmental limits into economic decision-making is essential for long-term prosperity. Geoist principles naturally align with this vision: the market itself becomes a tool for sustainability, not destruction.

Historical and Contemporary Endorsements

Support for geoist policies spans both sides of the political spectrum. Classical liberals like John Stuart Mill endorsed taxing land rents as the most just form of taxation, recognising that labour and capital should remain untaxed to encourage productivity. Friedrich Hayek, while wary of heavy-handed state intervention, recognised the inefficiency of monopolies and the benefits of mechanisms that reduce unearned wealth capture.

Modern examples abound. Economists at the OECD, the IMF, and the World Bank have explored forms of land taxation and rent capture as tools for both equity and growth. Politically, thinkers ranging from Tony Benn on the left to libertarian economists like Fred Foldvary on the right have embraced geoist principles as compatible with social justice and market efficiency.

A Structural Shift, Not Cosmetic Reform

What sets this approach apart from conventional policy is its scale and structural logic. Incremental tweaks to income tax rates, subsidies, or welfare programs cannot address the systemic extraction of unearned wealth that drives inequality and ecological degradation. By targeting monopoly rents and externalities directly, society aligns prosperity with justice, and growth with ecological renewal.

The blueprint is clear: a genuine green economy is bold, fair, efficient, and sustainable. Land and monopoly rents become the fulcrum for economic justice; externality taxes hard-wire sustainability; and markets, far from being exploitative, generate value for society as a whole. As Milton Friedman, Henry George, Joseph Stiglitz, and Mariana Mazzucato collectively suggest, the solution is not punishment of success, but the intelligent capture of unearned wealth to empower everyone.

In short, a fair and thriving economy is possible—but only if we confront the structural grip of monopolies, reclaim the rents they capture, and redesign incentives to reward work, innovation, and social good rather than exploitation and scarcity.

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  Breaking the Grip of Monopolies: The Case for a Fair, Green, and Thriving Economy The path to a fair and thriving economy does not lie in...