Who gets to eat and who to decide

The matter of who owns what establishes not only who gets to consume but also who gets to decide. The question of who gets to consume is a question of (re)distribution of the economic endowment; the question of who gets to decide is a question of the (re)distribution of the political endowment. The laws of sheviit and shemitta go to both matters: who gets to eat as well as who gets to decide. 

The laws of sheviit and shemitta say private property is important but not absolute. They say once every seven years or once every seven times seven years the rights of private property are suspended as pertains both to real property, the transfer of real property, and property rights over each other's persons, as well as to debts and as well as to a concern for the poor and the wild animals. 

During those sabbatical years the question of private property for the sake of growth and development becomes subordinate to the question of distribution of wealth and distribution of power.