Mass Dispossession Through the Commodification of Land

Under a new scheme, the World Bank seems intent on dismantling customary land laws in a push to privatize land and ultimately turn it into a commodity for sale to the highest bidder. In Africa, where much of the land is still governed by customary laws, this constitutes an odious and immediate threat to people’s livelihoods, autonomy and culture. Gwen talks to Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director of the Oakland Institute and the author of The Highest Bidder Takes it All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons.