Quote:
Originally Posted by Cael  They didnt really get rid of the English landlords - some of them are still very large landowners in Ireland. Most landlords went bankrupt after the famine and were glad to sell up. You are getting involved with the question of nationalism there, which certainly gave the grabbers an advantage, but it is a huge overstatement to say that the Irish people would not accept nationalisation of the land, as most of them would only have the kind of secondary contact with the question you describe. Davitt was very far before his time, in relation to the grabbers and to the British government, so I dont imagine anything else could have happened than did - but we today do not have to stay under the cosh of such a tiny and pampered minority. |
Indeed he was before his time. It was a few decades before Stalin implimented a collectivisation policy which caused massive civil unrest and a famine that killed at least a few hundred thousand people.
It took 5 Land Acts and 50 years before the English landlords were reduced to a tiny proportion of landholders. Does that sound like they were willing sellers?
The conditions of Irish farmers improved immeasurably subsequently. They were very connected to all aspects of the Land question and would not have surrendered their property to the State. If Davitts proposal had any support, he wouldn't have been so easily sidelined.
I have my issues with farmers at the moment but collectivisation is hardly the solution to any problems that do exist. It has simply never worked and you haven't suggested any reason why it could work now.