Some Tough Questions About Libertarian Homesteading Theory

—–Original Message—–
From: A
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 9:37 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: What can we homestead?

Hello Dr. Block,

What can we homestead and what are its limits? I can understand homesteading land but what about less physically-tangible things?

One example I’ve heard was, suppose a company builds an airport on some empty parcels of land and there is no one around. Let’s also assume the airport produces a fair bit of noise but it doesn’t affect anyone because no one else lives there. In this process, the airport homesteads the right to produce some level of noise. It is precisely this right that prevents a person from building a new house close to the airport, and then suing the airport for noise pollution.

This example seems intuitive to me. But where does it stop?

If I build a house with a nice mountain view, do I really have the right to that mountain view? If someone decides to build a high-rise tower and blocks the view, can I really sue them?

Or alternatively, what about if I build a house with a backyard such that I get plenty of sunlight for the plants that I am growing. If someone builds a house next to me and blocks the sunlight, can I really sue them? Have I homesteaded the right to the sun?

Could you please point me to resources that can help answer these questions? Thank you in advance for your help and all that you do for liberty. I am an admirer of your work.

Best, A

Dear A:

By far, the best thing ever written about issues of this sort is this one:

Rothbard, Murray N. 1982. “Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution,” Cato Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring; reprinted in Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation, Walter E. Block , ed., Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1990; http://www.mises.org/rothbard/lawproperty.pdf;
http://mises.org/story/2120

I don’t think you can own views:

Block, Walter E. 2014. “A Collection of Essays on Libertarian Jurisprudence:
Sunshine and property rights.” Saint Louis University Law Journal; Vol. 58, No. 2, Winter, pp. 541-547; http://slu.edu/Documents/law/Law%20Journal/Archives/LawJournal58-2/Block_Article.pdf;
http://law.slu.edu/sites/default/files/Journals/walter_block_essay.pdf
Shade, sunlight, sun light, views .

More on sunlight:

Block, Walter E. 1998. “Roads, Bridges, Sunlight and Private Property: Reply to Gordon Tullock,” Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, Vol. 8, No. 2/3, June-September, pp. 315-326; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/roads2_vol8.htm;
http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block_roads-bridges-sunlight-reply-tullock-1998.pdf

Block, Walter E. 2008. “Homesteading, ad coelum, owning views and forestalling.” The Social Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 96-103;
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1890872

Block, Walter E. 2009. The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors; forward by Brad Edmonds; Auburn, AL: the Mises Institute; http://www.mises.org/store/Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-P581.aspx
http://www.mises.org/store/Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-P581.aspx?AFID=14
freebie: http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf
http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf
isbn: 978-1-933550-04-6

Block, Walter E. and Matthew A. Block. 1996. “Roads, Bridges, Sunlight and Private Property Rights,” Journal Des Economistes Et Des Etudes Humaines, Vol. VII, No. 2/3, June-September, pp. 351-362; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/roads1_vol7.htm;
http://www.business.loyno.edu/bios/Blockarticles/roads1_vol7.htm;
http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block-block_roads-bridges-sunlight-property-1996.pdf;
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228217518_Roads_Bridges_Sunlight_and_Private_Property_Rights?ev=prf_pub

Debate on eminent domain: Walter E. Block vs. Richard Epstein, http://mises.org/media/1231; http://blog.mises.org/archives/002009.asp;
http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2004/05/04/block_epstein_will_d.php;
5/4/04; http://www.mises.org/blog/archives/002009.asp
Listen to it: http://www.mises.org/Media/?action=showname&ID=64

Epstein, Richard vs. Walter E. Block, 2005. “Debate on Eminent Domain.” NYU Journal of Law & Liberty, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 1144-1169 http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2004/05/04/block_epstein_will_d.php;
5/4/04; http://www.mises.org/blog/archives/002009.asp
http://www.nyujll.org/articles/Vol.%201%20No.%203/Vol.%201%20No.%203%20-%20Block%20and%20Epstein.pdf

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4:34 pm on November 3, 2018