| Privatizing Public Lands Contributor(s): Lehmann, Scott (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0195089723 ISBN-13: 9780195089721 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $212.85 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: March 1995 Annotation: At the present time, the United States federal government retains title to roughly a quarter of the nation's land, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and several hundred million miscellaneous acres. Managing these properties is expensive and often contentious, and few management decisions escape criticism. Some observers, however, argue that this criticism is misdirected, that the fundamental problem is collective ownership itself; the solution, therefore, would be a move toward privatization of such property. A free market, it is claimed, directs privately owned resources to their most productive uses, and privatizing public lands would create a free market for their services. This timely study critically examines these claims, interrogating the concept of productivity. Lehmann argues that there is no way of understanding "productive" so that greater productivity is at once desirable and a likely consequence of privatizing public lands or "marketizing" their management. The discussion is fully self-contained, with background chapters on federal lands and management agencies, economics, and ethics. It will interest philosophers, public policy analysts, and all those concerned about the future of land use in the United States. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Public Policy - Regional Planning - Political Science | Public Policy - General - Philosophy | Political |
| Dewey: 333.16 |
| LCCN: 94012012 |
| Lexile Measure: 1450 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 6.4" W x 9.58" (1.26 lbs) 264 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In the United States, private ownership of land is not a new idea, yet the federal government retains title to roughly a quarter of the nation's land, including national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. Managing these properties is expensive and contentious, and few management decisions escape criticism. Some observers, however, argue that such criticism is largely misdirected. The fundamental problem, in their view, is collective ownership and its solution is privatization. A free market, they claim, directs privately owned resources to their most productive uses, and privatizing public lands would create a free market in their services. This timely study critically examines these issues, arguing that there is no sense of productivity for which it is true that greater productivity is both desirable and a likely consequence of privatizing public lands or marketizing their management. Lehmann's discussion is self-contained, with background chapters on federal lands and management agencies, economics, and ethics, and will interest philosophers as well as public policy analysts. |