Leftists regard space as a part of the “celestial commons.” Space, they claim, belongs to all of mankind and private interests should not benefit from what belongs to everyone. Any wealth generated from activities in space should be shared with all of mankind. The celestial commons should not be “enclosed” by establishing property rights in…
Last July, both Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson launched private rockets into space carrying human passengers. In September, Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent four civilians into space to orbit the Earth for three days. Musk has talked of colonizing Mars, and several companies are looking at mining asteroids and other celestial bodies. These efforts have provoked…
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits after a farm has been operating for a year. Such a bill would be unnecessary if “coming to the nuisance” was understood and applied properly. Coming to the nuisance essentially means “first in time, first in rights.” A property owner has a…
At Jacobin Magazine, Luke Savage argues that against capitalists on the moon. He isn’t happy that billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are working to make space travel commercially viable. Space, he argues, should not be a playground exclusively for the wealthy: What is presently called “private space exploration,” after all, is in practice…
The Cecil County Council in Maryland is considering an ordinance that would allow property owners to keep up to eight chickens in their backyard, so long as they have a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet. One of the provisions of the bill is that chicken owners must obtain an annual license from the…
Last week, I received a fund-raising letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In the letter, Paxton repeatedly proclaimed his support for liberty. Yet, his track record belies this claim. For example, Paxton defended the Trump administration’s use of eminent domain to seize private land along the state’s southern border to build a wall. He…
This week, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, a body established by the World Health Organization, released a paper that argues that “global health has been ‘left hostage’ to Big Pharma.” Such a claim equates the actions of pharmaceutical companies with the actions of kidnappers. This is a grossly unjust accusation. A kidnapper…
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are infamous for saying one thing and doing something contrary to their words. For a voter who values free markets and property rights, it is particularly disconcerting when politicians express support for such principles and then abandon those ideas when it is politically expedient. Texas Attorney General Ken…
Libertarians believe that individual liberty is compatible with virtually any moral code. However, politics is the application of morality into a social context. To separate the two is to place liberty on a foundation that cannot support freedom. In a piece titled, “Native Americans Had a Lot More Private Property Than You Think,” Daniella Bassi,…
In April, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveiled the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. The bill would “invest” $172 billion over 10 years to upgrade over 950,000 public housing units. When the bill was announced, Sanders said, “It is unacceptable that our nation’s public housing is in a state of chronic disrepair and…
A neighborhood association in Boise is fighting a proposal to develop a 226-unit subdivision. The Northwest Neighborhood Association (NWNA) contends that the development would prejudice its “substantial rights to ‘open space and rural character.’” Rights pertain to freedom of action. If one desires to live in a neighborhood with open space and a rural character,…
Ardent Residential wants to build a 275-unit apartment building in Austin. The company plans to set aside 10 percent of the units for low-income families. But the project requires rezoning to allow for higher density housing. When the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission (ZAP) recently heard the case, commissioners were deadlocked on approving the rezoning….