5 ms·

I believe it is legal in many or most countries. In the USA the power of the state to expropriate property for the public good is called eminent domain, and it

I believe it is legal in many or most countries. In the USA the power of the state to expropriate property for the public good is called eminent domain, and it is affirmed by the US constitution.

vollmond 16y ago
However, in that case, you don't force the original propertyholder to continue maintenance of the site.
- jbooth 16y ago
  The US has anti trust laws, too, you know. And they were introduced for a reason. You're not allowed to collude or leverage dominance in one market (infrastructure) into an unfair advantage in another market (content). This is why free markets work -- if we refused to regulate anything, ever, it'd be oligarchy, and there'd be precious little "free" about it.
  - tkahn6 16y ago
    You're not allowed to collude or leverage dominance in one market (infrastructure) into an unfair advantage in another market (content). Citation needed. Apple dominates the college student/professional artist demographic. They sell hardware coupled software - it is illegal to run their software on any non-Apple hardware. This is why free markets work -- if we refused to regulate anything, ever, it'd be oligarchy, and there'd be precious little "free" about it. That is absolutely wrong. By definition a free market has no regulation (besides prevention of fraud). In fact the only thing giving telecom companies a monopoly is the government. EDIT: To the person who voted me down, would you mind explaining why? I'd be fascinated to know. EDIT 2: From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market A free market is a market without economic intervention and regulation by government except to enforce ownership ("property rights") and contracts
    - jbooth 16y ago
      Did your history teacher skip the Gilded Age?
      - tkahn6 16y ago
        For the most part, yes. Would you mind explaining how that's relevant?
        jbooth 16y ago
        The very, very short version: During the Gilded Age, as the industrial revolution was happening, a small number of people controlled all of the money and infrastructure. Then, there were no laws against collusion or antitrust or any of that. If you owned the railroad line to Denver, you could insist that you'll only ship your brand of widget to Denver, and everyone loses except you. You win big. So they routinely fucked everyone else over, and life is much better now that we don't have a few massive trusts dominating the whole economy.
        tkahn6 16y ago
        Well I appreciate the summary. It's interesting that you should bring up the railroad industry as an example of why anti-trust laws are necessary.... The railroad industry was extremely corrupt and was heavily subsidized by the government. They received special treatment and competition was forbidden. Corruption in America's Gilded Age http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3614.html http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3614.html Are you noticing a trend here?
        jbooth 16y ago
        Yeah, I'm noticing a trend - you don't even know basic history, but you think you know all the answers and they're so obvious that you can be smug and condescending about them. Here's a hint: they aren't. Black and white proclamations about "government this" and "free market that" are used by 2 kinds of people : demagogues, and the useful idiots who follow them. Which are you?
tkahn6 16y ago
IANAL but extending "eminent domain" to telecommunications infrastructure does not seem straightforward or cut and dry. Eminent domain typically refers to a physical property. And eminent domain has been affirmed by subsequent supreme courts rulings - it is not explicitly defined in the constitution.

I believe it is legal in many or most countries. In the USA the power of the state to expropriate property for the public good is called eminent domain, and it is affirmed by the US constitution.

vollmond 16y ago

However, in that case, you don't force the original propertyholder to continue maintenance of the site.

jbooth 16y ago
The US has anti trust laws, too, you know. And they were introduced for a reason. You're not allowed to collude or leverage dominance in one market (infrastructure) into an unfair advantage in another market (content). This is why free markets work -- if we refused to regulate anything, ever, it'd be oligarchy, and there'd be precious little "free" about it.
- tkahn6 16y ago
  You're not allowed to collude or leverage dominance in one market (infrastructure) into an unfair advantage in another market (content). Citation needed. Apple dominates the college student/professional artist demographic. They sell hardware coupled software - it is illegal to run their software on any non-Apple hardware. This is why free markets work -- if we refused to regulate anything, ever, it'd be oligarchy, and there'd be precious little "free" about it. That is absolutely wrong. By definition a free market has no regulation (besides prevention of fraud). In fact the only thing giving telecom companies a monopoly is the government. EDIT: To the person who voted me down, would you mind explaining why? I'd be fascinated to know. EDIT 2: From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market A free market is a market without economic intervention and regulation by government except to enforce ownership ("property rights") and contracts
  - jbooth 16y ago
    Did your history teacher skip the Gilded Age?
    - tkahn6 16y ago
      For the most part, yes. Would you mind explaining how that's relevant?
      - jbooth 16y ago
        The very, very short version: During the Gilded Age, as the industrial revolution was happening, a small number of people controlled all of the money and infrastructure. Then, there were no laws against collusion or antitrust or any of that. If you owned the railroad line to Denver, you could insist that you'll only ship your brand of widget to Denver, and everyone loses except you. You win big. So they routinely fucked everyone else over, and life is much better now that we don't have a few massive trusts dominating the whole economy.
        tkahn6 16y ago
        Well I appreciate the summary. It's interesting that you should bring up the railroad industry as an example of why anti-trust laws are necessary.... The railroad industry was extremely corrupt and was heavily subsidized by the government. They received special treatment and competition was forbidden. Corruption in America's Gilded Age http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3614.html http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3614.html Are you noticing a trend here?
        jbooth 16y ago
        Yeah, I'm noticing a trend - you don't even know basic history, but you think you know all the answers and they're so obvious that you can be smug and condescending about them. Here's a hint: they aren't. Black and white proclamations about "government this" and "free market that" are used by 2 kinds of people : demagogues, and the useful idiots who follow them. Which are you?

tkahn6 16y ago

IANAL but extending "eminent domain" to telecommunications infrastructure does not seem straightforward or cut and dry. Eminent domain typically refers to a physical property. And eminent domain has been affirmed by subsequent supreme courts rulings - it is not explicitly defined in the constitution.