The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Roads, Bridges, Sunlight, and Private Property: Reply to Tullock 319
into ownership, one must “mix one’s labor with the land,” e.g.,
homestead it. But the University of Arizona12 professor is very
much in error in stating that the homesteading principle no
longer applies “in the present day world . . . [since] . . . there is
practically no such [unowned] land available, hence you have to
buy.” 13
First of all, there are vast tracts of land, which have never been
homesteaded in northern Canada, Siberia, and Alaska, to say
nothing of Antarctica. And this applies as well to the gigantic
Sahara and other deserts of Africa, Russia, China and elsewhere.
Second, there are large reaches of land west of the Mississippi,
which are claimed by the U.S. government, and administered by
the Bureau of Land Management. These, too, have never been
homesteaded. When and if we arrive at the free society of capitalism,
there are still airplane and bridge paths, which could be
owned, as well as subsurface rights, for mining and tunneling.
Fourth, even were it true that there were absolutely no more land
on the surface of the earth14 that is unowned, hence, if you wanted
to own some of it “you have to buy,” homesteading theory would
still be relevant to public policy considerations. For example, it is
McGee, “The Fatal Flaw in NAFTA, GATT and All Other Trade Agreements,”
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business 14, no. 3 (1994):
549–65; Tibor Machan, “A Defense of Property Rights and Capitalism,” in
Introducing Applied Ethics, Brenda Almon, ed. (Oxford, England: Blackwell,
1995), 260–71; and Bruce L. Benson, “The Impetus for Recognizing Private
Property and Adopting Ethical Behavior in a Market Economy: Natural
Law, Government Law, or Evolving Self-Interest,” Review of Austrian Economics
6, no. 2 (Spring, 1993): 4380.
12At the time of the writing of this article, Tullock was a professor at the
University of Arizona. However, at present time, 2007, he is located at
George Mason University.
13Tullock, quoted in chap. 15, p. 311.
14We pass over the fact that according to homesteading theory, the
oceans, seas, rivers and lakes of the planet are also fair game. As well, this
applies to the moon, to Mars, to the asteroids, and indeed any other real
estate, which may one day become available for human utilization.