[...]... But, at least, every time the life of someone was tragically snuffed out, someone in a position to ameliorate these dangerous conditions xv xvi The Privatization of Roads and Highways would lose money, and this tends, wonderfully, to focus the minds of the owners This is why we do not have similar problems with bananas, baskets, and bicycles, and the myriad of other goods and services supplied to us... reasons are there for advocating the free-market approach for the highway industry? First and foremost is the fact that the present government ownership and management has failed The death toll, the suffocation during urban rush hours, and the poor state of repair of the highway stock are all eloquent testimony to the lack of success which has marked the reign of government control Second, and perhaps... D’Amico, Eric Mattei, Eileen xiii xiv The Privatization of Roads and Highways Murphy, Brian Summers, and Jeff Tucker for helpful suggestions, research and editing A significant part of this book has previously been published There will thus inevitably be some repetition in the pages that follow But in view of the importance of the subject, and the desire to preserve these earlier publications, no attempt... beg the reader’s patience in this regard Introduction M ost people who read this book will dismiss it as the ravings of a lunatic For I advocate the complete, total and full privatization of all roads, streets, highways, byways, avenues and other vehicular thoroughfares And I am serious about this, deadly serious This is so far off the radar of public policy analysis and apart from the concerns of. .. proximate causes The ultimate cause of our dying like flies in traffic accidents is that those who own and manage these assets supposedly in the name of the public the various roads bureaucrats—cannot manage their way out of the proverbial paper bag It is they and they alone who are responsible for this carnage This does not mean that were thoroughfares placed in private hands that the death toll would... “Review of Herbert Mohring, Transportation Economics” [unpublished manuscript]) Free-Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads 13 allowed to earn a profit They can prosper and expand Entrepreneurs who fail to satisfy, on the other hand, are soon driven to bankruptcy This is a continual process repeated day in, day out There is always a tendency in the market for the reward of the able and the deterrence... existing highways as well as with the plans of others for new expansion He would have to set up the “rules of the road” so as best to accomplish these and other goals The road industry would be expected to carry on each and every one of the tasks now undertaken by public roads authorities: fill potholes, install road signs, guard rails, maintain lane markings, repair traffic signals, and so on for the myriad... and with the libertarian theory of homesteading property rights One scenario would follow the shopping center model: a single owner-builder would buy a section of territory and build roads and (fronting them) houses Just as many shopping center builders maintain control over parking lots, malls, and other “in common” areas, the entrepreneur would continue the operation of common areas such as the roads, ... 233) The provision of highways involves basically the same problems as any other economic activity Scarce resources must be used to satisfy human wants by the provision of goods and services, and decisions must be made as to how much of our resources will be devoted to one particular service, and who is going to make the necessary sacrifice (Winch, The Economics of Highway Planning, p 141) 12 The Privatization. .. slaughter of the innocents Is there anything of a practical nature that can be done to solve the problem in the short run? Probably not But do not give up hope Right before the decline and fall of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe, there were few who thought this scourge would soon be removed Another benefit of the present book is that it attempts to demonstrate the viability, efficaciousness, and, . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" The Privatization of Roads and Highways The Privatization of Roads and Highways Human and Economic Factors Walter Block LvMI MISES. cars, and advertise how cleanly they run. viii The Privatization of Roads and Highways Automakers do this already, but under the gun of a government that mandates