Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Bundyonomics

I have one more thing to say about Cliven Bundy before I let him fall into obscurity.

Bundy's entire case was about being able to graze his cattle on public land. The federal government wanted to restrict grazing on their land for conservation efforts.

This case is so close to the hypothetical example in the tragedy of the commons that it sounds almost made-up. The entire lesson, which libertarians and capitalists should understand, is why it matters that we have private property and the ability to exclude the use of resources by the public.

I know it's now the default to oppose Bundy because he said some obnoxious racially-insensitive things, but can't we also call him out for being something of a socialist?

1 comment:

  1. I was under the impression that most of the debate centered on the fact that the stewardship of the land is in dispute and he had been paying grazing fees to the state government.

    That may not be right, but if it is, the question of whether he recognizes the federal governments authority or not is a side note. I can't remember where I heard that though, so I may have invented it while I was sick and delirious these last few weeks.

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