The great German land lottery

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0:41Okay, here's the show. Before we get started, this episode includes some swearing, once in English, but some in the German dialect called Franconian. This is Planet Money from NPR. Today is a day that Friedrich Neuser has been waiting for for the past 10 years. Good morning. How are you doing, Friedrich? Good morning. Have you a good night? Yes. Yeah. We're meeting him and his family in rural Germany, in the middle of miles and miles of farm fields. This is your sister. Ah, very nice to meet you. I'm Erica. From America. Erica from America. Friedrich loves a joke and is relentlessly positive. He's this tall, lanky potato farmer in his 60s.

1:29For the last 10 years, Friedrich has planted, harvested, and cared for nine specific plots of land here in Germany. Specifically in this area called the Osing. The Osing is collectively owned by a group of 141 farmers. But after today, the plots he's farmed and cared for will no longer be his. He'll trade them in for new plots through a lottery, a land lottery. Every 10 years, for the last 500 years, so since the 1500s, the people in this community hold a lottery. where farmers randomly get assigned plots of land that they will farm for the next 10 years of their lives. It's like farmland musical chairs.

2:11So at today's lottery, the map of all this land is going to be wiped clean. Friedrich and all the farmers here, their economic fates will be decided by pulling names out of a bag. The lottery is about to kick off soon. It takes place on hundreds of acres of grain, corn, potato fields, fields that will be up for grabs today. The opening ceremony starts inside a big tent. We settle in at a table with Friedrich. I hope Fortuna is good to me. Friedrich is talking about Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune. And he hopes today she helps him out. He says the first thing he wants is at least two pieces of good land.

3:01He says he wants sandy soil because that's what's best for growing potatoes. And the second thing he wants is not too much bad land. Friedrich has nine plots of land, which means he will get nine new plots of land. But not every plot is suited for potatoes. Some land is really bad for growing potatoes. It's too swampy or the soil is too dense. And every plot that's not ripe for potatoes will cost him. I think it's beginning. The master of ceremonies steps to the microphone for the start of the Ossing Ferlosung. That translates to the Ossing Land Lottery.

3:48He says, the Ossing Land Lottery greets you, dear guests. Friedrich is starting to look kind of nervous. The tension is there. Yeah, I see you. Everybody looks a little happy, but also a little nervous right now. Friedrich says his adrenaline is going up, up, up. As he says this, his hand goes up like a roller coaster climbing. I raise my microphone as if I'm making a toast. All right. Let there be good land. For good land. Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Erika Barris. And I'm Emma Peasley. In many ways, economics is about the best way a society could allocate their scarce resources. Hundreds of years ago, a community in Germany came up with their own unique solution to that question.

4:40Today on the show, we follow along as every farmer has a shot at 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.

5:03This message comes from NPR sponsor Zendesk. Introducing the next generation of AI agents built to deliver resolutions for everyone. With an easy setup that can be completed in minutes, not months, Zendesk AI agents resolve 30 % of interactions instantly. quickly giving your customers what they need. Loved by over 10 ,000 companies, Zendesk AI makes service teams more efficient, businesses run better, and your customers happier. That's the Zendesk AI effect. Find out more at Zendesk.com. So, why does Osing have this unusual lottery system? Well, we asked a bunch of people, and they all said, we need to talk to George Rudolph.

5:42What I've done before, I'm a landowner, a farmer. George tells us he was a farmer. But today, his main gig is being the Ossing historian. And the history of this land lottery all starts with, what else? A classic German fairy tale. The story begins a thousand years ago. When an empress, Empress Guni Kunde, was on a hunting trip here in this area and she got lost.

6:15Back then, this land was all forest. And there were four villages at the edge of the forest, to the north, south, east, and west. So, Empress Cunekunde was lost in the woods and she couldn't find her way out. Until she heard bells from the churches coming from the communities at the corners of the forest.

6:42She found her way out, and she was so grateful, she gifted the forest land to the people of these four villages. And that forest land became the Olsing. It became the Olsing farmland.

7:00Okay, so parts of this fairy tale are probably not true. Like, these churches did not have bells a thousand years ago. But everyone agrees, the empress gave them the land. And while giving them the land was nice, it also created a problem. A problem that would eventually lead to the Ossing lottery. Because the four villages had to share that farmland. Now, communal farmland, it was not such a novel idea, especially around this time in Europe. Lots of places, communally farmed land. But what the people of the Ossing did next was kind of novel.

7:43So they had some fight or some trouble with each other because they said, OK, you get better farmland than we and so on. This is Marcus Hoffman. He's an interpreter who helped us out. He's from this area and he knows this story well. And he says, you see, the people here fought over the lands with a better soil. They fought over how much land they were getting. It was not a war. It was just a fight, a verbal fight. They don't kill each other. So it was just squabbling and your land is better than my land. And maybe they punch each other. But it was not a war. It was not a war. Okay, so punching, but not a war.

8:22All over who got better land. Some parts were hilly, hard to get to. Some soil was better because it was fertile and you could grow almost anything on it. The worst soil was rocky and full of pebbles. So this is why in the 1500s, the villages came up with a novel system to distribute the land. Elsewhere in Europe, communities were turning communal land into plots people owned individually. Here in the Ossinghto, they came up with their own version of land ownership. They said, OK, we have to do it in a fair way for all the people from all four villages. So the villages created the land lottery.

9:03Basically, the Olsing would be divided among the people of the four villages. The farmers would randomly be assigned plots. The good ones, the bad ones. Now, some people would be luckier than others. That happens. So there's another part of the lottery. You only got to keep your land for 10 years. So after 10 years, the names went back in the bag and there was a new drawing. It meant no one would be stuck with a bad plot forever. Another lottery, another chance. And this is the reason why we have the raffle every 10 years. So in one year you are lucky, you get better land, or in the next time you are not so lucky, you get more worse.

9:45The ozing doesn't belong to anybody. It actually belongs to everybody. And while we don't do a lot of things today the way we did in the 1500s, for good reason, this land lottery has not changed at all. Every 10 years, in a year that ends in four, right after the harvest, the people here have held a lottery, no matter what. In 1984, the year it rained, the day before the lottery and the fields were muddy, they did the lottery. Even in 1944, during World War II, when bombers flew overhead, they still did the lottery. And today, in 2024, it's sunny, a little windy, and people are milling around, mostly dressed in jeans and hiking boots.

10:31But there's also a man dressed in lederhosen and a woman in a red velvet dress with puffy sleeves and a crown. Is that the empress? Kuni kunde is coming. Kuni kunde is coming. When the lottery begins, hundreds of people spill out of the tent and onto a gravel path. All the people are moving at the same time. Yeah, so it's a traffic jam. Yeah, it's a traffic jam. The first thing to know about this lottery is that it involves a lot of walking. They really walk at a brisk pace. I guess we should walk a little faster. No, there are a lot of people behind us. They won't start until we all get there?

11:07Yeah, absolutely. Friedrich, the potato farmer, is moving fast. He has real dad at the airport energy. He's walking with a purpose, and we initially lose him in the crowd. Oh, there he is. Hello again. Hello again. We're going to walk plot to plot and watch as they randomly draw winners at each one. In total, the group will walk to about 600 plots. It's a long walk. It's a long walk? It's a long walk, yes. I hope I wore the right shoes. We never walk alone. We get to our first plot with Friedrich and his son, Beit, who's taking over the farm. Veit has all the stakes with their name. They have nine stakes for nine plots of land.

11:46Some farmers have dozens of stakes, others just a few. The master of ceremonies stands in the middle of the crowd with a bag that has the names of all the farmers in it. Friedrich has a blank map of the Oetting, ready to be filled in if they call his name. We check out this first plot. How is this land? Is this good or this is bad? No, it's every single good land here. This would be good? Yeah, it's good. What is so good about this land here? Now it's the same ground. It's sandy. No stone. Small stone. Some of the best plots are at the beginning of the lottery. This first plot would be good for any crop, but it would be especially good for potatoes.

12:26So Friedrich really wants his name to be called. A kid from the community reaches their hand into the bag, pulls out a slip of paper. The name of the winner trickles through the crowd. The name they call is Tony, not Friedrich. Tony gets this plot. There's some celebration as the new landowner makes their way to the center of the crowd and hammers a stake in the ground. And then we start moving to the next plot. Each plot is a little different. Varying sizes, different soil quality. And that adrenaline Friedrich felt earlier, it's stronger. Because the land at the beginning of the lottery is some of the best, it's fertile, workable.

13:07He really wants his name to get called. Oh, here we go. Here's another one. See what happens now. Again, not him. After an hour, two miles of walking, and a dozen more names being called. Not you again? No, my name. Friedrich has watched as a lot of his neighbors get good land. No, my name. No, no. Fortuna is not good to me. Fortuna is sleeping. What's going on? Are you sure your name is in the bag? Bist du sicher dass dein Namen da drin liegen? This is Friedrich's fourth lottery. When his son was little, he was one of the children who pulled the names out of the bag. Kids love to do it because the farmers whose names they pull tip them.

13:52Today, his eight-year-old neighbor, Obi, is one of those kids getting handfuls of euros. I got 30 again. Now I have 90. You have 90? So you've read three times? Yeah. After two hours, the lottery is starting to get stressful. Because the good fields get doled out in the beginning, Friedrich is missing out. And he's worried they'll run out of the good land. As the day stretches on, we start to notice all the ways that it feels like we are not in the year 2024. This whole lottery seems really inefficient. For example, they walk plot to plot, and they measure all the plots by hand, using a tool that predates the metric system.

14:36The tool is called a girt. It's basically a giant wooden ruler with an incremental measurement called a shoe. That's German for shoe. And it's based on an actual person's shoe size. The people here, though, say, All this ceremony is because of fairness.

14:58Friedrich says the most important thing is fairness. And Markus says that's why the lottery has stuck around. It's still the main reason why we do this lottery stuff. If we do it only from the commercial point of view, I'm pretty sure they would stop it. And would say, OK, one time we sell all the land and who have the most money, he can buy the best areas. But the main purpose of the lottery is fairness for everybody. And this is key to what makes this system work, that people believe it's fair. The things we're seeing, like measuring the land by hand using an ancient tool, walking plot to plot, and watching each name drawn out of a bag.

15:40These are symbols of the system's fairness. And because people believe this is all fair, they're willing to accept the outcome of the lottery. The ritualization helps people accept their fate. And if any of that were to change, you might lose what makes this so special. They're willing to give up some efficiency for more fairness. But still, people are getting impatient. Like 8-year-old Obi, who is waiting to pull names from the bag. I do it fast so everyone can go on, go on, go on. Like, oh, the kids are, like, staying there for, like, three minutes. And the kids are wiggling their whole hand in the bag, trying to pick it out, opening it, then struggling to like, eh, eh, they can't even read.

16:28Can you read the names? Sort of. Three hours in, and a few dozen plots have new owners. But Friedrich is still waiting for his turn, waiting for his name to be called. Now, there are only about ten good plots left. If his name isn't called soon, he'll be stuck with bad land. Friedrich, though, is still holding out hope. And then... Noises! Woohoo, Friedrich! Ah! That's you! That's mine, y 'all. Friedrich and his son start hammering in the stake with their name on it. Friedrich has a full smile. This is a good one! Yeah! Yeah! This is your claim? Yes. He pulls out his map of the Osing and writes down his name.

17:14So we're looking at a map of all of Olsingen. You're going to write what you just got. It's so gloriously analog. Today is a good feeling. Today is a good feeling. Fortuna war good. And then, another few plots later, his name is called again. Feit Neuser. Hi! Yes, it is perfect in Franconian. Wait, this is perfect? This is perfect. Perfect, yeah. His bag is two stakes lighter. Friedrich is happy. After a bit more walking, he gets a few more okay plots. But it's now our six. We've walked about 10 miles. And at this point, we start crossing over into the bad land. So we're walking down a hill. I'm thinking like maybe these are scratchy plants.

18:10They definitely feel like scratchy, scritchy. roots of something. Do you all have ticks in Germany? What is ticks? Tick. Yes, yes. That's not what I wanted to hear. Very confident yes. Yes, yes. It feels like things are changing. The sun is bearing down on us, and the soil in these plots is noticeably worse. This is not the kind of land Friedrich wants. But he still has three stakes left. Friedrich is worried about getting one of these really bad plots. And after a few draws, his name does get called. Friedrich's son, Veit, hammers their stick in. And when he finishes, he leans over and mutters something to Marcus.

18:58Just before he walked away, he said, you can tell it's a schlump. Schlump is Franconian, and we'll let Marcus explain what it means. Schlampp is Franconian slang for its city. This land has terrible rocky soil. It's nowhere near his house or even his other plots. Schlampp, schlampp, schlampp. Yeah, your son said schlampp and walked away. So that seems like he didn't like this land too much. Ja, es ist auch schlampp, aber es ist nicht wertlos. Es ist nicht so hoch im Wert. He says it's a bit schlumpy, but not worthless. Still land, though. Friedrich, the eternal optimist, knows that all hope is not lost.

19:44Friedrich has gotten nine plots through the lottery. Two are really good, a few are medium, and two are schlumpy. But these might not be the plots he ends the day with. Because in all the rules of this land lottery, there's another move that can be made. Friedrich says it's not over yet. Hope dies last. There's still a possibility. After the break, the Ossing for Losung allows Friedrich one more shot at getting those good plots of soil.

20:31After 15 miles of walking and more than 600 names being drawn, the map of the Osing has been rewritten. And looking at the new map, it's kind of a mess. Farmers have plots that are all disconnected from each other, and wheat farmers have soil that's good for potatoes, Potato farmers have soil that's better for corn. Like Friedrich. He got a few pieces of land he doesn't want because they're far from his other plots and they're not great for growing potatoes. And that's bad for Friedrich. That would mean half as many crops in a year on those plots. But that's also bad for the economy because this land would be great for farming corn or wheat.

21:12And so Friedrich getting this land is kind of a waste. This is partly why pretty much everyone else on the planet buys and sells land. If Friedrich could just buy the land he wants, he could make sure he got exactly the land he needs for potato farming. But because he's in the lottery, he has to leave it to chance. So the lottery's fair, but maybe not efficient. That's why the people of the Ossing have a second part to the Ossing Fair Luzon. The celebratory tent has turned into a trading pit. Farmers like Friedrich can go to another farmer and outright trade for a better plot. There are more than 600 other plots, hundreds of potential deals.

21:56And this is maybe the coolest part of the day. Farmers are sprawled out across tables. They're pouring over their maps of the Osing. They're constantly writing and erasing as they go back and forth on offers. A secondary market has emerged because even though the lottery is designed and executed to be totally, completely random, after the plots are assigned, the new landowners can all trade with each other. Essentially, Marcus says, it's like this game we all kind of know. It's a little like Monopoly. Aha. If you know the game Monopoly. Yeah, farmers are trying to trade their plots like Monopoly property, hoping to get a bunch of them together.

22:35If you have already a good starting point, then it's easier. But if your areas are distributed everywhere in the Ossing, then you need to negotiate more or you have to trade more often. The goal of trade is to maximize what lots we get in life. And that is precisely what everyone here in the Ossing is doing. Farmers can trade a plot for a plot, but they can also add money to a deal. Are there rules for trading? Not really. Normal human rules. Don't punch each other into the face. Yeah, is that rough? Friedrich and his son start trying to make some trades. They want to get rid of their bad, schlumpy plots.

23:19When we're talking about a thousand years, then we're going to go. They approach one farmer who seems open. They all scrutinize their respective maps.

23:35But then, the other farmer abruptly walks away. Did a deal happen? A little bit. What does that mean, a little bit? A little bit means the other farmer is open, he's willing to trade, but only if Friedrich and his son convince the farmer with the plot on the other side of them to trade too. So they'll have to wait and see on that one. Next, Friedrich and his son try making a deal with one of the big farmers, the ones with lots of plots. A lot of the big farmers have set up makeshift headquarters on the beds of their pickup trucks. Smaller farmers like Friedrich and his son seek them out, hoping to make a deal.

24:13His son walks up to one of the big farmers and proposes a trade. He tells them about one of his schlumpy plots. But before he even gets to the specifics, the group laughs him off. No, it is no fun. So Friedrich finds the next farmer, and they huddle over his map of the Ossing. Over the course of the day, it's become covered with smudged names and phone numbers and all kinds of notes.

24:41One farmer says he might make a deal with them. But Friedrich's plot is next to an organic farmer's. That might be a hassle. It might affect how he can farm. So he's going to wait and see who else will make him an offer. All around us, these strategic trades are happening. And the farmers have different strategies. One of the farmers has a notebook with a list of 15 deals he needs to make to get all of his land together. Markus talks us through an exchange between the two farmers. But I do it once again. Okay, is this okay? What would I do? I think I'm going to cut it.

25:16So Jürgen said to Heiko, okay, I reserve it for you. I keep that for you, but we cannot close the deal because I have to do something in advance. And Heiko replied, no, no, no, no, that's not a fair deal. I want it for sure, and I want it here. A little bit of hardball. Yeah. The people here spend three or four hours negotiating. You can picture the map of the Osing being drawn and erased, drawn and erased hundreds of times throughout the night. And with each trade, the land itself gets closer to its most efficient use. In theory, trading means the land can end up with the farmer who will make the most of it, help it yield its highest value.

26:01And after all the trading is over, the farmers and the land will be better off. And we see some of this happening right in front of us. A handshake. Wow, that's official. And we notice, yes, each farmer is looking out for their own interests. But there's also this sense of community. People are making deals and saying, like, we'll figure out the money later. Because the people here are all neighbors. They'll sing in the community choir together. Their kids will go to school together. And they'll all see each other at the one restaurant in town. Shout out to the gasthouse Grunerbaum. And of course, they're going to do this whole thing again in 10 years.