Property and Society

EC357: I twice heard  sociologist lecture to different groups.  He had done a very extensive bit of research on the difference between company towns and towns where people were on their own working for themselves either as small businessmen or farmers. And he said that the difference between the two cultures was dramatic.  In the company town very often the company was very generous, very thoughtful, did everything to provide the proper conditions, both housing, often better than people on their own had, recreation, health care and so on.  But in the company town church going was low, very much lower than in the town of people who had their own homes or farms where private property prevailed.