[188] in libertarians
Re: Good Phoenix Article
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (TJIC@ICD.teradyne.com)
Mon Sep 12 16:29:22 1994
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 94 16:14:14 EDT
From: TJIC@ICD.teradyne.com
To: damartin@mtl.mit.edu
Cc: libertarians@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <9409122000.AA03335@ampere.mit.edu> (damartin@mtl.mit.edu)
Reply-To: Travis J.I. Corcoran <TJIC@ICD.teradyne.com>
> Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 16:00:49 -0400
> From: damartin@mtl.mit.edu
>
>
> In the latest issue of the Boston Phoenix, there is a long
> article about environmentalism from a free-market point of view.
Written by one of my favorite authors, P.J. O'Rourke. For those not
familiar with PJ, he's a libertarian who doesn't realize that he's a
libertarian (he thinks he's an anti-authoritarian Republican). PJ is
the author of the great books _Holidays In Hell_, _Republican Party
Reptile_, _Bachelor's Home Companion_, _Give War a Chance_, and
_Parliament of Whores_.
> It asserts (very convincingly) that the free market does a better
> job of helping the environment than the state.
Gee, imagine that! The free market (i.e. every single person who
buys, sells or trades anything) responds better to people's desire for
a livable environment than does a huge beuracracy that is centered
around reelecting itself (that is, the power elite) every few years.
> One amazing fact I learned from the article is that the US
> government often leases land to mining companies, ranchers,
> loggers, and other businesses, but is NOT ALLOWED to sell the land
> to environmental groups that are willing to buy the land and keep
> it unspoiled.
It has long been accepted by anti-authoritarians that if the US were
to divest itself of its national parks, grazing lands, mineral rights,
etc. that these lands would all be managed much better. The owners
would have a vested interest in keeping their capital "producing"
(wether that means producing cattle, which would require that the
owner not over graze; producing drinkable water, which would require
that the owner not pollute; producing timber, which would require that
the owner not clear-cut; or producing tourism dollars, which would
require that the owner keep the place nice and natural.)
For those new to PJ O'Rourke buy or borrow some of his books.
_Parliament of Whores_ is not a bad place to start.
--
TJIC (Travis J.I. Corcoran) TJIC@icd.teradyne.com
opinions(TJIC) != opinions(employer(TJIC))
"Buy a rifle, encrypt your data, and wait for the Revolution!"
