[nwah1]

Supply and demand isn't a magic incantation that makes a particular process valid. Slave markets have supply and demand, too.

If the fundamental property rights under consideration themselves are unjust, then efficiency arguments are missing the point

Of course, I also oppose rent control, because of the inefficiency. But I very much sympathize with and understand the brutal truth behind how land ownership is acquired. It is a simple matter of force... ownership is decided by whoever wields control over the application of violence.

That fact, combined with the fact that land is not a fruit of labor, means that individual ownership claims are unjust. And even from a pure efficiency standpoint, the ability to own and speculate on land creates a huge amount of idleness and underproductivity. People are able to afford to sit on idle land indefinitely, if there's little cost to do so.

The obvious solution is to tax land by value and use the revenue for infrastructure and public goods, and any remainder should go to a Citizen's Dividend. Wise use of such funds would always flow back into the value of land itself, and thus pay for itself. Without needing to tax production or labor. This would be much fairer than our current process of creating perverse incentives by taxing labor, and then allowing landlords to reap unearned benefits from nearby public works.