history

landowner - definition, concept and what it is

A landowner is the person who owns some land. The word landowner is commonly used to refer to the legitimate owner of a large area of ​​land with agricultural and livestock activities. The etymology of this word already clearly indicates its meaning, since landowner comes from terra or land and from tenens, which it has.

In general, the large landowners have the ownership of the land by some inheritance, as has happened historically in Spain, Argentina or Colombia (for example, in the Argentine tradition there is the Buenos Aires landowner for whom the gauchos work).

The derogatory sense of the term

In principle, a landowner is nothing more than the owner of some land. However, it is a term that continues to be used in a pejorative way. This has a logical explanation and with roots of historical type, since the owners of the land have had power, wealth and privileges. You could say that the landlord is the contemporary version of the feudal lord. As the landowners own the land, they have been able to do with it what they considered appropriate and even use it in a non-productive way (as a hunting ground or as a summer resort).

In this way, the peasants who had little land considered that the landowner's lands could be a solution to their suffering. This circumstance has created all kinds of conflicts throughout history: the illegal occupation of land, expropriations in turbulent periods, and all kinds of social tensions between landowners and the peasantry.

The landlord archetype

The historical sense of the term has created an archetype of the landlord. Thus, this individual has been seen as an exploiter, as someone without a social conscience, a privileged member of society, someone who enjoys undeserved living conditions and, ultimately, a person with great power that represents a brake on violence. equal opportunities. At the same time, the archetype of the landlord has become the staunch enemy of the communist and anarchist movement. The motto "the land for those who work it" is a clear synthesis of what the figure of the landowner has represented in the world.

Land reform, an example of opposition to landlords

Agrarian reforms have taken place in many countries of the world. An agrarian reform is, in short, a profound legislative change with the purpose of changing land ownership. Generally, with an agrarian reform it is tried that the land is not in the hands of a few owners and, in parallel, with this measure it is intended to achieve greater agricultural and livestock productivity.

Photos: iStock - duncan1890 / Linda Steward

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