Comment by 9rx

He is suggesting that in the past, landownership was used as a proxy to determine who was a complete and mature citizen – and perhaps, most importantly, to determine who actually had skin in the game. Human bodies can leave a governing area with else, land cannot.

Times have changed. That model wouldn't work today for many reasons. But we haven't replaced the proxy with something that does fit modern times. Nowadays we see literal students who are still trying to become capable and mature citizens participating in government. And per the internet (take that for what you will), up to 40% of those students will move to a different jurisdiction after graduation, so not only are they not yet mature, there is little risk to them if their participation burns things to the ground.

Maybe that's okay. The world is our oyster to live in as we see fit. But it is noted earlier that it isn't how things were expected to be when our ideas about government were originally formed.