The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

20
Aiding and Abetting
Road Socialism: The Case
of Robert Poole and
the Reason Foundation 1
In this chapter we take it for granted that governmental ownership
and control of roads is unjustified, on the grounds that
it is based on coercion (the tax revenues upon which it is
based are compulsory), and needlessly kills thousands of people
(over and above the much lower number who would likely die
under privatization 2). Given these premises, what is the proper
attitude of the libertarian toward those directly responsible for
this irresponsible, mischievous and even murderous scheme?
To ask this question is pretty much to answer it. Not to put
too fine a point on it, but those responsible for the perpetration of
highway socialism are guilty of the deaths of tens of thousands
1www.rppi.org/ps305.pdf; www.rppi.org/ps294.pdf; and www.rppi.org.
2See Lawrence H. White, “Comment on Block,” (unpublished manuscript)
on this claim.
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