
New Zealand Locks the Doors from the Inside - rafaelc
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/realestate/new-zealand-locks-the-doors-from-the-inside.html
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zimpenfish
London (and to some extent, the broader UK) could do with a similar
restriction - Private Eye has done several deep dives into just how much[1] of
London/the country is owned by secretive / tax-haven'd corporations.

1\. "A lot". cf [https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/two-years-still-
dark-a...](https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/two-years-still-dark-
about-86000-anonymously-owned-uk-homes/),
[https://whoownsengland.org/2017/11/14/the-companies-
corporat...](https://whoownsengland.org/2017/11/14/the-companies-corporate-
bodies-who-own-a-third-of-england-wales/), etc.etc.

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DATACOMMANDER
I recently read a book called Power, Inc.—published shortly after the Citizens
United decision—that sheds some light on the historical forces at work here.
Basically, the wealthiest private entities have become so powerful that
they’re able to bully and dominate all but a handful of nation-states. We’re
used to a straightforward, hierarchical taxonomy of power which places state
actors at the top, followed by corporate actors and then individuals. That’s
no longer an accurate description of reality; there’s a surprising amount of
overlap between the supposed ranks.

With that in mind, I no longer view policies like the one adopted by NZ as
inherently “nativist” or “xenophobic”. Now I view them as defensive maneuvers
being engaged by less powerful states against powerful private actors that
operate on a global scale. That they’re coming a decade or more later than
they probably should have is not surprising, given that speed is not a
strength of the state. I also can’t help but laugh at the idea that these
policies are motivated by racism.

Edit: I got the publisher of Power, Inc. mixed up with that of another book I
read around the same time.

