The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Roads and the Immigration Issue 221
It is safe to say then, as much as it is safe to say anything
about how a hypothetical highway industry would operate in
future, that these groups would be more likely to be singled out
for heavier scrutiny before being allowed out onto private highways,
and perhaps in some cases even forbidden entry. Yes, certain
benefits would not accrue to owners who turn away customers;
discrimination costs money to firms who engage in such
practices. 10 However, the presumption here is that these losses
would be more than offset by a majority of paying customers
who appreciate the added safety thereby vouchsafed for them.
Let us now return to the question with which we began. We
asked if massive numbers of foreign immigrants would likely
have the run of the place under a regime of private road ownership.
Peering through the murky clouds necessarily surrounding
such essentially entrepreneurial issues, my own personal best
guess is that this would depend almost totally upon their behavior.
If they are hard working and industrious, good safe drivers,
not given to criminal behavior, then the likely answer is yes; if
not, then, not.
Another dimension comes into play with regard to road
access. There are already gated communities which place all
would-be entrants under a veritable microscope before allowing
admission. To gain entry onto these private, low traffic capacity
streets, one must typically convince an armed guard of his bona
fides. This is often buttressed by an on-the-spot telephone call to
the person being visited. There is very little acceptance, in such
venues, of outsiders who wish to engage in joy riding, house
viewing, window shopping, touring around, etc.
In contrast, nowadays, the level of examination for major
traffic arteries is much less. This might imply that the foreign
immigrant homesteader or invitee might find more of a welcome
on the highways rather than on the byways of the nation. But any
10 See Gary Becker, The Economics of Discrimination (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1957).