Find solution
What are climate and topographical factors that intensify air pollution?

Does libertarian capitalism have a mechanism for dealing with air pollution and climate change?

  • I know libertarian capitalism can deal with environmental issues overall, with private property. Any owner of a piece of land has incentive to not trash it because once they trash it they can't use it anymore and can't sell it (I know it's a little more complex than that but that's the basic idea) But I can't seem to find any proposed mechanism for dealing with air pollution and climate change. After all air is not owned and flows freely, and therefore private ownership cannot deal with pollution and climate change the same way it does with land. Are there any mechanisms for libertarian capitalism that successfully solve the problem of air pollution and climate change?

  • Answer:

    Yes. A citizen owns the air over his property, thus can sue against air pollution; even so, government would be able to interfere against air pollution in a libertarian society if it got bad enough, as it would be an enforcement of the nonaggression principle. Global warming is real, but not a problem. The process is too slow, and it only counts on companies using fossil fuels for hundreds of years on from now- which is impossible, as it would become too expensive. Corporations would undoubtedly develop alternative energies by then, which will probably be prevalent in less than 100 years.

libalchris at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

No. Capitalism couldnt even do away with slavery; the government had to "interfere" and do away with that problem. Same with child labor. It wasnt the government that owned slaves or employed children to work all day in filthy unsafe factories. It was private sector captitalists that did that. At the risk of stating the obvious, slavery was attractive to capitalists because not paying a wage allowed for lower costs and thus higher profits, which is the name of the game in capitalism. The "free market" didnt solve this problem, government "interference" did. To blame slavery or child labor on the government is like blaming a murder on the police for not arresting the killer before he struck. Greedy capitalistic desire for profit created slavery and child labor. Government regulation put a stop to it. Same with destruction of the environment.

Max

Yes. A citizen owns the air over his property, thus can sue against air pollution; even so, government would be able to interfere against air pollution in a libertarian society if it got bad enough, as it would be an enforcement of the nonaggression principle. Global warming is real, but not a problem. The process is too slow, and it only counts on companies using fossil fuels for hundreds of years on from now- which is impossible, as it would become too expensive. Corporations would undoubtedly develop alternative energies by then, which will probably be prevalent in less than 100 years.

Chuck Norris

No. Capitalism couldnt even do away with slavery; the government had to "interfere" and do away with that problem. Same with child labor. It wasnt the government that owned slaves or employed children to work all day in filthy unsafe factories. It was private sector captitalists that did that. At the risk of stating the obvious, slavery was attractive to capitalists because not paying a wage allowed for lower costs and thus higher profits, which is the name of the game in capitalism. The "free market" didnt solve this problem, government "interference" did. To blame slavery or child labor on the government is like blaming a murder on the police for not arresting the killer before he struck. Greedy capitalistic desire for profit created slavery and child labor. Government regulation put a stop to it. Same with destruction of the environment.

Max

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.