“What is needed for better husbandry of ecological resources is more widespread and deeper establishment of property rights together with their enforcement. The cause of environmentalism is often associated with the Left. This is despite the fact that some of the worst environmental outcomes in the history of our planet have been associated with Communist governments. …
“Indeed, the intellectual and moral high ground when it comes to environmentalism ought to be taken by those who believe in private property, strong community institutions and a free economy.
“[Why?] If things are owned, they will tend to be looked after. The owner of a lake will not [likely] fish it to near extinction (or even over-fish the lake to a small degree) because the breeding potential of the fish would be reduced.
“On the other hand, if the lake is not owned by anybody, or if it is owned by the government and fishing is unregulated, the lake will be fished to extinction because nobody has any benefit from holding back. Local businesses may well also pollute the lake if there are no well-defined ownership rights….”
~ Philip Booth, from his article ‘If You Really Want to Protect the Environment, Privatise It’
Here’s John Stossel …
[Hat tip Dan Mitchell]
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