Egoism
Individualism
Sovereignty
Splendor

(These ideas are explicated in this sloppy manifesto)

Saturday, July 16, 2005
 
Taking back the sky...

Richard Nikoley has been writing soaringly about his quest to learn to fly small aircraft. I think this much is great. I deeply admire people--especially set and settled adults--who strive to master new and difficult disciplines. And, of course, there is no better metaphor for the idea of human splendor than soaring, a glorious ascendance.

But...

In light of Kelo, it is worth noting that aviation was one of two outrageous wholesale "takings" in the last century. The other was broadcasting. In both cases, the previously sacrosanct air rights of millions of innocent owners or private property were expropriated--without any sort of due process or 'just compensation,' whatever that might be. All, almost entirely, to the benefit of private parties, if that matters.

I have never heard any sort of libertarian commentary about this vicious theft. Missy Rand wrote about the supposed private property rights of broadcasters, but she did not address the rent-free bandwidth broadcasters usurp by beaming radio waves across other people's air spaces. And to my knowledge no libertarian has admitted that, when Richard flies his plane over my house, he is trespassing on my private property no less than if he had driven his Hummer across my lawn. This is theft plain and simple, and I don't think it has ever been addressed in law at all. Our forebears were awed into thoughtlessness, a common enough twentieth century malady.

Of course, Richard is not to be faulted for doing things the way they are done now. It is vicious and unjust that ancient old crones in Brooklyn are taxed to build roads they will never use, but this is not a reason for me not to use those roads, even though I don't like the way they are funded. But it seems obvious to me that, in a society based solely on consent, with zero resorts to force to resolve disputes, Richard's available airspace would would be much circumscribed. And broadcasting would not exist at all...





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