Why We Need Markets To Know Who Should Own Western Lands

[Draggingtree]

Mises:

Why We Need Markets To Know Who Should Own Western Lands

 

JANUARY 14, 2016 Ryan McMaken

As the debate over federal lands continues, those who are jockeying over who controls the land often assume that their own preferred use of the land is the "correct" use of the land. Environmentalists hold that without federal control of land, all lands would be sold off to miners and ranchers who will strip and graze the land into dust. Meanwhile, rancher activists have implied that if federal lands would only be handed over ranchers, then the land would finally be used properly, since — it is assumed — ranching is the only reasonable way to use the land.

 

But, the fact of the matter is that we have no idea what the "correct" use of the land is in the absence of market prices. Without functioning market prices, we have no way of knowing if the owners of land would use it for ranching, mining, recreation, or for hunting preserves. That is, market prices would tell us how owners and consumers value a particular piece of land. Without market prices, we have no way of knowing this, and at that point, wealthy special interests tend to take over.