The rent of land, therefore, considered as the price paid for the use of the land, is naturally a monopoly price. It is not at all proportioned to what the landlord may have laid out upon the improvement of the land, or to what he can afford to take; but to what the farmer can afford to give.
No matter what, landlords, as a class, will always demand as much as their victims can give.
As Adam Smith once wisely observed:
No matter what, landlords, as a class, will always demand as much as their victims can give.
Hence why he argued that capitalism will only work within a moral framework or else it’ll descend back into oligarchy.
Low and behold, we’re there again.
“It’s just business.”
“It’s stupid to leave money on the table.”
“If I didn’t do it someone else would anyway.”
“It’s a free market.”
“It’s the market rate, don’t be mad at me.”
…