tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2132506648412240909.post429799602875282516..comments2023-06-19T06:21:32.114-05:00Comments on Who Moved My Liberty?: Positive v. Negative RightsProf Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16539902592080231165noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2132506648412240909.post-57370583846966600292010-11-28T11:23:30.386-06:002010-11-28T11:23:30.386-06:00How high up above your land do you rights extend? ...How high up above your land do you rights extend? In other words, are you actually inhaling the smoke from the fire? Around here, it seems the smoke from everyones' chimneys goes (more or less) straight up. Who owns the air up there? <br /><br />Now there is some argument for pollutants trespassing on your property. I believe it was W. Block who discussed the importance of property rights and pollution. Prior to tort reform in the 1850s (or so) a person could sue a firm for getting schmutz on their laundry because of (say) smoke stack emissions. It's hard to prove, but without said tort reform who knows where environmental forensics might be today?<br /><br />Thus it remains an empirical question - if the smoke from my fire has actually damaged you then there does seem to be an actionable consequence here. I also think there's an error term here. Yeah, the smoke crosses property lines, but does it really cause any damage?Prof Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539902592080231165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2132506648412240909.post-77629179918270137752010-11-28T09:50:08.580-06:002010-11-28T09:50:08.580-06:00I'm sure these aren't perfect examples, bu...I'm sure these aren't perfect examples, but here goes. I have the right to clean air and water, especially while residing on my personal property. This right may or may not exist driving down a public road or walking on the sidewalk in a big city. So, let's confine the discussion to personal property.<br /><br />My neighbor has the right to use his property as he wishes, so long as his "externalities" remain on his property. During the winter, my neighbor burns wood or coal for heat. The smoke from his chimney drifts onto my property, and he is therefore committing trespass.<br /><br />Through negotiation, we can arrive at some optimal level of pollution and reimbursement for damages (Coase Theorem, if I'm applying this correctly). But in the absence of any negotiation, does my right to clean air trump my neighbors right to heat?Brad Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03950312793230274562noreply@blogger.com