This is a question about proposals for
libertarian or
anarcho-capitalist systems that always bothered me. The libertarian system is supposedly based on property rights, but I wonder how absolute those property rights are. For example:
I install a fish pond in my yard and stock it with trout. A corporation builds a coal-fired power plant 100 miles from my house. Because of their activity, traces of mercury show up in my fish. Do my property rights include the right not to have my land contaminated with poison?
My next-door neighbor builds a stadium in his back yard and begins hosting noise concerts at volumes that make it impossible for me to sleep at night. Is this a violation of my property rights?
A nearby airport begins using the airspace over my house as part of its flight path. Do my property rights extend to the atmosphere?
Obviously this node only makes sense if people post other writeups; please comment.