cover of episode The great German land lottery

The great German land lottery

2024/11/15
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Key Insights

Why does the Osing community in Germany use a land lottery system?

The lottery system was introduced in the 1500s to distribute communal farmland fairly among the four villages, preventing conflicts over better soil and land allocation.

How does the land lottery system in Osing work?

Every ten years, farmers are randomly assigned plots of land they will farm for the next decade. After ten years, the process repeats, ensuring no one is stuck with poor land indefinitely.

What is the significance of the land lottery system in Osing's history?

The lottery has been held consistently for over 500 years, regardless of external circumstances like wars or natural disasters, symbolizing the community's commitment to fairness.

How do farmers in Osing react to the land lottery results?

Farmers hope for good land suited to their crops but are prepared to trade plots after the lottery to optimize their land use, balancing individual needs with community fairness.

What role does trading play in the Osing land lottery system?

After the initial lottery, farmers engage in a secondary market to trade plots, aiming to consolidate land and maximize its efficient use, similar to a game of Monopoly.

How does the Osing land lottery system reflect community values?

The system emphasizes fairness over efficiency, ensuring all farmers have a chance at good land and fostering a sense of community through collective participation and post-lottery trading.

What challenges do farmers face in the Osing land lottery system?

Farmers may end up with plots that are not ideal for their crops or are scattered, requiring complex trading strategies to achieve optimal land use and yield.

How has the Osing land lottery system evolved over time?

The system has remained largely unchanged for centuries, adapting only through the secondary trading market to address inefficiencies introduced by the random allocation process.

Chapters

The episode introduces the Osingverlosung, a land lottery in Germany where farmers randomly get assigned plots of land they will farm for the next ten years.
  • Farmers gather every ten years for the lottery.
  • The lottery aims to balance fairness and efficiency.
  • Fredrick, a potato farmer, hopes for good land.

Shownotes Transcript

Every ten years, a group of German farmers gather in the communal farm fields of the Osing for the Osingverlosung, a ritual dating back centuries. *Osing *refers to the area. And verlosung means "lottery," as in a land lottery. All of the land in this communal land is randomly reassigned to farmers who commit to farming it for the next decade.Hundreds of years ago, a community in Germany came up with their own, unique solution for how to best allocate scarce resources. For this community, the lottery is a way to try and make the system of land allotment more fair and avoid conflict.Today on the show, we go to the lottery and follow along as every farmer has a shot at getting the perfect piece of land — or the absolute worst piece of land! And we see what we can learn from this living, medieval tradition that tries to balance fairness and efficiency.*This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Emma Peaslee. It was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang. Reporting help from Sofia Shchukina. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)