Human Societies

Human societies are compose of the men who inhabit a given plot of land. There do exist societies of men who are nomadic, but the author reckons that such societies are still defined by geography: while they may move daily or seasonally from one place to another, they do settle for a time in one place before moving to the next.

I is more common for a human society to be settled in one place, in which which a ruler claims ownership of the land, and by that right has authority over the people who dwell upon it.

There is a tendency for land to be owned by a small number of people, and populated by many more. It is generally by means of war that military leaders lay claim to large plots of land, which is in time of peace subdivided by declaration or inheritance.

There is a distinct difference between the ownership of land and the title to make to make use of it, which can be seen as early as the first settlement of Rome, in which each citizen had a certain amount of land allotted to him, but which was owned by the State, which could revoke or reassign title.

The use of land, decreed by its owner or determined by the choice of those who hold title, first begins with employing it for the maintenance of life - to build a shelter and to raise food. Once this has been accomplished, the additional use of land adds to the convenience and pleasure of life - and the precise used depends on the preference of the owner. If the owner or tenant of the land is fond of drink, vines will be cultivated; or if they delight in horses, pasture is needed; and so on.

As to the notion of "common ground," such plots of land have an owner but not a title-holder. In such instances the use of such territories is governed by the owner, who defines the conditions by which others may use it.