The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

ndPropertyOSCAR W. COOLEYIN ALL THE WELTER of worry about"the environment," seldom is propertyand its relevance to pollutionmentioned.To own property is to have ameasure of control over a definableportion of one's environment. Ifone has property, he has a degree ofpower to prevent his environmentfrom being despoiled. Indeed, thepurpose of property, it seems, isto enable man, the owner, to bringenvironment under control andmake it yield up a maximum ofsatisfactions.It has often been noted thatpeople pollute least - that is, takebest care of - that part of the environmentwhich they themselvesown. The householder is more solicitousof the home he owns thanthe renter is of the house in whichMr. Cooley is Associate Professor of Economicsat Ohio Northern University.he is but a temporary tenant. Afamily which, on a picnic, mightleave litter in a public park andbeer cans by the roadside will notdump waste on their own frontlawn.Is it possible, one might ask,for an owner to "pollute" his ownproperty?' To the extent that it ishis to utilize as he sees fit, whateverhe does with it will be, in hisview, its best use. And when aresource is being put to its bestuse, it can hardly be said to be"polluted."If I deliberately pipe sewage intoa pond on my own land, presumablyI consider using thepond as a cesspool to be its optimumuse. Hence, there is noabuse, no pollution. If however,either purposely or inadvertently Iallow my sewage to flow into aneighbor's pond, against his will,336