back to the land policies

"But I still think people (all among the oppressed classes) should band together and walk onto and occupy unused land."

That might have made sense in North America a century or more ago, and it still makes sense in a few places today (such as parts of South America, where the rightful owners were dispossessed centuries ago and their descendants need the stability of land ownership to get a decent start in life). However, it does not make sense in North America today.

There are several objections to this. For one thing, "unused" land is exactly what wildlife needs, and it behooves society to leave a portion of its land undeveloped. From the human perspective, however, there are two objections; one being that when private property is taken it violates the property rights of the rightful owner and leads to a breakdown in trust which will lead to a worsening of the economy, and the other being that such "back to the land" policies inevitably fail in the modern age.

While an agrarian life may be suitable to a few people who are highly skilled in that area or have an independent income that will allow them to keep up a farm at a loss, most modern urbanites simply do not have the skills to return to an agrarian lifestyle. Moreover, the traditional agrarian lifestyle is not a healthy or rewarding one. Excepting drug addicts, persons with mental disabilities, and the incredibly unlucky, almost anyone will be better off living in a modern city or town than they would be on a traditional farm - and even the majority of those three classes would be better off in town. Life without electricity or modern plumbing is not all it is cracked up to be.

However, it should also be noted that modern plumbing and electricity production are primarily the results of private enterprise. What we need is not so much a movement to occupy "unused" land as a movement to reduce government spending and unnecessary regulations that are an impediment to industry. (Despite all the liberal talk about Bush Jr. "deregulating" everything, he actually oversaw the largest growth in government regulation ever seen.)