Is there a role for econimics and or economists in the following? I met this morning with (zoom) 16 people each from a different institution dealing with the problem of migrations, migrants, and the hostility on the rise from the people in the placse the migrations are moving to or though. There are efforts afloat for example to create the category of world citizen with passports and implyimg dignity (at one point migrants from the ME on average had more yewars of education that the average US citizen)

How do we cope with migrations – which means people on the move – and private property – which means people taking a stand where they are?  Migrating is one of the main ways, maybe the only way, but maybe including irrigation, populations, plants and animals including humans cope with climate change or other major environmental events. Get up and go and look for a livable place usually based on reports of better conditions.. I am sure we have all seen maps of the migrations that started with humans coming out of Africa and slowly moving to all parts of earth. Humans were good at this, and probabaly evolved mentalcapacities under pressure to cope.

If current practice (private property)denies this main way of coping what is the result? Even the way a commons (community owned land) would respond to migrant flows is understood to lead to violence. These migrations require production and distribution – issues common to economics. But there was no economist nor banker in the group, which were people mostly from non-profits and some government agencies.. 

Private propety is key. The words come from the Roman concept of  privatus – removing from the public, – and property – from proper – are you dressed properly for the party? – where the things are signs of one’s social position in the community (Tesla, BMW, Good burgundy and designer jeans). In all old societies wearing clothing from a different social rank was met by punishment, even death. Thngs were properly social signs.  Not marketable.

It gets confusing when we realize that democracy has its origin in land – community ownership as in the Greek city state, or as in requirement to vote as in democracies until recently. 

It looks to many that the current land ownership system is about to break apart. It did in England and France when church lands and large estates were taken back into the public realm. 40 million Americas face foreclosure? Food banks going broke?

Simply put, where I live in Sonoma County, experiments in how to grow food and live are impossible because all the land is held by those who want to keep it or sell it. Role for economists?