by Nolan Dalla
How many of the pissed-off rich people who live in swanky houses along Silverstone Golf Club in Las Vegas call themselves ?free-market capitalists?? What?s the breakdown of those within that wealthy gated enclave who support the sanctity of private property rights?
Bear with me, now. I?m looking for some philosophical consistency. But I don?t expect to find it. What I do expect to uncover is this ? hypocrisy. Good old-fashioned ?not in my back yard (NIMBY)? hypocrisy.
Sure, protecting and defending private property ownership is sacrosanct within conservative and libertarian circles. The belief held is that a property owner can do pretty much what he or she damn well pleases. After all, it?s their home. It?s their land. Accordingly, homeowners and landowners have a fundamental right to use their property as they wish, so long as the fair use of the land is legal and doesn?t infringe upon the rights of others.
Sure sounds good, doesn?t it?
Trouble is, the real world isn?t guided by principles, nor consistent patterns of belief. This is especially true when lots of rich people get angry.
Let?s examine the recent local controversy surrounding a Las Vegas golf course, which has triggered multiple lawsuits, public protests, emergency town hall meetings, and even threats of violence. A local community of homeowners in the northern part of the city called Silverstone includes several hundred private homes, most of which are adjacent to a 27-hole golf course. As one expects, these are far more expensive homes than average, ranging in price from around $300,000 up to several million for premium properties. Not that the value of a home should matter, of course, when it comes to the fundamental question of property rights. Then again, it always does.
A few weeks ago, the golf course was sold off to a ?developer? from Beverly Hills, someone with a notorious reputation for bulldozing relatively less-profitable public venues like golf courses in favor of pouring in cement slabs for a forest of condos and housing tracts.
more...
http://www.nolandalla.com/there-goes-the-neighborhood/
How many of the pissed-off rich people who live in swanky houses along Silverstone Golf Club in Las Vegas call themselves ?free-market capitalists?? What?s the breakdown of those within that wealthy gated enclave who support the sanctity of private property rights?
Bear with me, now. I?m looking for some philosophical consistency. But I don?t expect to find it. What I do expect to uncover is this ? hypocrisy. Good old-fashioned ?not in my back yard (NIMBY)? hypocrisy.
Sure, protecting and defending private property ownership is sacrosanct within conservative and libertarian circles. The belief held is that a property owner can do pretty much what he or she damn well pleases. After all, it?s their home. It?s their land. Accordingly, homeowners and landowners have a fundamental right to use their property as they wish, so long as the fair use of the land is legal and doesn?t infringe upon the rights of others.
Sure sounds good, doesn?t it?
Trouble is, the real world isn?t guided by principles, nor consistent patterns of belief. This is especially true when lots of rich people get angry.
Let?s examine the recent local controversy surrounding a Las Vegas golf course, which has triggered multiple lawsuits, public protests, emergency town hall meetings, and even threats of violence. A local community of homeowners in the northern part of the city called Silverstone includes several hundred private homes, most of which are adjacent to a 27-hole golf course. As one expects, these are far more expensive homes than average, ranging in price from around $300,000 up to several million for premium properties. Not that the value of a home should matter, of course, when it comes to the fundamental question of property rights. Then again, it always does.
A few weeks ago, the golf course was sold off to a ?developer? from Beverly Hills, someone with a notorious reputation for bulldozing relatively less-profitable public venues like golf courses in favor of pouring in cement slabs for a forest of condos and housing tracts.
more...
http://www.nolandalla.com/there-goes-the-neighborhood/
