Comment by Plasmoid
2 days ago
Let's expand on this.
People assume that renting out property is rent-seeking literally only because they both have the word rent in them.
I would note that people don't use the word rent-seeker (or parasite) when it comes to banks renting out money. I assume this is partly because banks use the word `loan` and partly because referring to bankers as parasites would be a little too close to dog-whistle antisemitism.
> People assume that renting out property is rent-seeking literally only because they both have the word rent in them.
It's not a coincidence that they have the same word in them. It's literally just the same word with the same definition and etymology in both cases. Rent is a payment demanded by property owners from people who want to make productive use of that property.
But rent-seeking isn't renting. They're different terms that don't have anything to do with each anymore.
> Rent-seeking is the act of growing one's existing wealth by manipulating public policy or economic conditions without creating new wealth. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking)
This definition doesn't overlap with renting.
The term has been generalized in economics to refer to more cases than just rent paid to live on or farm a piece of land.
I blame econonists for reusing the same word to mean different things.