The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

82 The Privatization of Roads and Highways
only one. Dare it be mentioned that one of the “protagonists” is a
completely inanimate object, invented solely by, and for the use
and satisfaction of the other? And that contrary to what might be
implied by certain writers, 52 the car has not taken on supernatural
powers which enable it to “body snatch” human beings, or
any other such invasive act? 53
It is completely fallacious, then, to speak of “cars vs. people.”
If even a modicum of common sense is to be introduced into this
discussion, the problem will have to be treated, not as a conflict
between humans and inanimate objects, but between some people
who want to use automobiles for some purposes, and other
human beings who are opposed to such (or any) use of these
machines. Given this translation, the problem transforms itself
into the more usual and hence more manageable conflict over
scarce means and competing ends.
With any scarce resource there are always two (or more) individuals
or groups who want to use it for different purposes. And
the usual method of deciding between the contending groups is
the price and private-property right system. The owner of a
given property is the one who decides whether it shall be used as
a bowling alley or auto showroom, for example. And it is through
the price system that those who wish to use the property in question
are able to register their preferences.
The reason insoluble difficulties appear in the conflict over
“cars vs. people” is clearly due to the absence of the institutions
of prices and property rights as applicable to roads. There are no
road owners who can presently decide whether to allow their
properties to be used (at different hours) by people with cars or
by people without cars. There is now no price system which can
52Owen actually speaks of a “spreading automotive invasion” (The Accessible
City, p. 19; emphasis added).
53As for the claim that “cars kill 50,000 people per year in the U.S.,” there
is not one case on record where a completely unmanned automobile injured
a person, except in the fictional movie, “The Car.”