based on what America does right when it comes to land. Many of our laws are fairly republican in nature. That would be small-r republican: the set of ideas, not the party who lacks them.


We’re seen as a ruthlessly capitalist country, and that’s true by and large. But we do have some prety hard- wired principles. You should, absolutely, be able to own what you can afford, and do almost anything you want with your own property.


There are some caveats, though. You can’t do things that hurt your neighbours, or that harm future generations. Your right to have a bonfire ends when the dry season comes around. You can’t set your back yard


on fire if that blaze might spread to your neighbour’s house. But we don’t apply that principle to actions, alone, we also apply it to failure. Local communities will simply not allow you to have a roting structure that brings down local property values and is in danger of falling in on itself. We don’t let hold-out landowners prevent economic and social development. There are a number of methods we use to prevent these problems.


July 2015 31


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