On the Impossibility of “Just Compensation” When Property Is Taken: An Ethical and Epistemic Inquiry

John Brätland

Chapter Chapter 8 in The Pursuit of Justice, 2010, pp 145-168 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The taking power (or eminent domain power as it is known in the United States) has evolved along with metastasizing power of democratic governments. A “taking” is an act of coerced confiscation undertaken to achieve a public use of private property.1 This evolved taking power has been condemned; for example, George Reisman has asserted that eminent domain “appears to constitute a clear violation of the principle of individual rights and thus have no place in a capitalist society” (Reisman 1996, 422). In even more searing language, Murray Rothbard has observed: “… when government confers a privilege of eminent domain… it has virtually granted a license for theft” (Rothbard 2004, 1139). Are these statements irresponsible hyperbole? After all, the constitutions of Western democracies promise and mandate payment of what is labeled “just compensation.” But in what way can compensation be made “just” if the exercise of the taking power is no more than officially sanctioned thievery? Can the act of compensating dispossessed owners be made just in a way that nullifies or negates Rothbard’s charge of theft? This chapter explores the ethical and epistemic answers to these questions.2

Keywords: Private Property; Property Owner; Public Official; Reservation Price; Property Transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-10949-0_8

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230109490_8

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