Monday, July 2, 2007

CM PRESS # 169


YOUR RIGHT TO SWING YOUR ARM STOPS WHERE MY NOSE BEGINS


Tibor Machan has a column in the O.C. Register today in which he tells us that we have no right to views from our property.

Our response to Machan's column is below.

We were tempted to begin our discussion with the nature of reality itself and the sub-atomic particles that lead us logically to the rules of existence--including our right to views under certain circumstances--but we figured the Register wouldn't publish a 500 page letter (however, you can buy our next book that will discuss this, if you so choose):

Dear
OC REGISTER:

Once again, Tibor R. Machan--who must live in a vacuum where the complete freedom of one person doesn't impact the freedom of others--gives us his usual 18th Century empty prairie notions of libertarian freedom and says that we can build whatever we want on our residential properties in, er, our present non-empty non-prairie cities.

That would be a little like saying every musician in an orchestra is free to play whatever he or she wants no matter what others are playing. The result is not nice. Disharmonious, as we say on the streets. Cacophonous, even. Sort of like Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon being on the Costa Mesa City Council.

When we buy a residential property in OC we're not buying it in the middle of an empty prairie, but often right next to where others have bought or are likely to buy.

And, we're not usually buying our homes just for the amenities found within our property lines--after all, few of us want to stay in our homes 24 hours a day--but for those things that lie beyond our property lines that make the area desirable for us. An old shack in Newport Beach is worth more than a new home in a less affluent city precisely because of what lies beyond the shack's property lines.

Because of the cheek by jowl nature of our communities, certain rules need to be made and followed by all or desirable communities soon become undesirable ones.

In the case of views, which is the specific area of concern where Machan uses most of his ink; Machan is partly right. If we buy a property with a view but know that there are no rules to protect that view, tough luck for us if someone builds in front of our view.

However, if there are rules protecting our view, then we should expect to retain that view because we are not only buying a house, but the view from that house, and we will, no doubt, pay more for the view house than a non-view house.

Harmony in built-out areas requires that everyone play by the same rules that are known to all.

Anyone who wants complete freedom should buy property out in the wilderness. Of course, if such people want modern amenities, and the ability to easily get to their homes, they'll have to use public utilities and public roads. And, since others also use these things, there must be rules and regulations for the common good that will restrict their freedom.

Any time there is more than one thing in existence, Grasshopper, freedom is restricted.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.


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