Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

qUIckly find hImself with few customers. Rothbard and
B I 0 c k fur the r a r g u e t hat i two u I d be c us t oma r y for
homeowners to negotiate long term contracts with the
road owner prohibiting just such capricious price
hikes. "With this sort of 'easement' provided in advance
by contract," Rothbard writes, "no such sudden
blockade would be allowed, since it would be an invasion
of the property rights of the landowner."(12)
e. Safety.
The final objection is that since a private road
s y s tern w0 u I d permit the own e r s to set the i r own r u I e s
and regulat ions, it would result in a confusing array
of contradictory regulations which, in turn, would jeopardize
the safety of the drivers. Libertarians mainta
i n tha t such a scenar io is highly improbable. True,
road owners would be responsible for regulating their
own property. If a company were negligent in the upkeep
of its roads, permitting dangerous potholes to remain
unrepaired, or if it were lax in the stipulation
and enforcement of appropriate h'ighway rules, permittin
g r e c k I e s s d r i v e r s t 0 endange r the I i ve s of 0 the r s
- - 0 r if it in any other way made cond it ions i nconvenient
for its patrons -- it would soon find its custome
r s us i ng other roads. Thus, says Rothbard,. "any rna verick
road owner who insisted on a left-hand drive or a
green for' stop' instead of 'go' would soon find himsel
f wi th numerous accIdents and the disappearance of
customers and users."(13)
On the related question of safety the libertarian
finds it ironic that anyone could defend the current
system against one privately run by citing the issue of
safety. The current publIC system routinely results in
the deaths of 50,000 Americans a year. This can hardly
be termed a raving success. As Block puts it, "a worse
job than that which is presently being done by the government
road managers is difficult to envision." The
problem stems precisely from the disjunction between
income and performance inherent In the very nature of a
government operation. A civil servant, argues Block,
draws hIS annual salary regardless of the
accident toll piled up under his domain. But
1 f hewer e apr 1 vat e own e r 0 f the r 08 d .
then he would indeed lose out if his road
com p i led a poor sa f e t y r e cor d. . . He wo u 1d
then have every incentive to try to reduce
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