Issue Eminent Domain

THE ISSUE: Government at all levels has abused eminent domain to take property for private purposes, many times where government may benefit financially. In so doing, government has become the primary threat to private property rights, rather than the protector of them.

THE PRINCIPLE: Private property is the foundation of freedom and prosperity; the proper function of government is to protect private property from threat of force or fraud.

LIBERTARIAN SOLUTIONS: Eminent Domain ultimately should be abolished since it is a threat to the institution of private property and an inevitable source of abuse of power by politicians and bureaucrats. Where public needs are recognized as clear and present, private entities must be free to supply those needs in a market framework, as they have proven capable throughout history of doing.

LIBERTARIAN ACTION/TRANSITION: The recent victories over eminent domain abuse by groups such as the Institute for Justice are the model for rewriting the eminent domain laws. While not the ultimate solution, stopping all eminent domain proceedings that do not demonstrate a clear and present public need such as a road will recover much of the sound basis of property rights that has been lost in recent years.