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> Why is that family's property rights inferior to those of folks building sprawl homes? They aren't. They also aren't inherently superior and deserving of spe
by Kalium 12y ago
> Why is that family's property rights inferior to those of folks building sprawl homes?
They aren't. They also aren't inherently superior and deserving of special privilege by virtue of being older. Otherwise we'd kick off the farmers, the natives who were there before, and every single form of life until the area degenerated to nothing but blue-green algae.
Also, the idea that a position is wrong because it offends or fails to respect someone else's beliefs in arbitrarily selected (but unspecified) ways is one that is offensive and disrespectful.
- ghaff 12y agoWhat "special privilege" are you referring to in the example given? The special privilege to not have the property that they own sold out from under them against their wishes?
- LordKano 12y agoOr the "special privilege" of using their land for the purpose for which it was acquired and had been used ever since?
- Kalium 12y agoThe special privilege of extra legal protection, such as a "right to farm".
- ghaff 12y agoThis is probably hopeless but all towns/cities dictate how properties in given areas can be used (i.e. zoning). They may change those rules but, for good reason, those rules are rarely retroactive. "Too bad about your house on one acre. We have five acre minimum zoning now. You'll have to tear it down--and good luck selling that property." So there are restrictions on pretty much any use of property in a given town or state. The ability to build a house, run a farm, or build an asphalt plant is allowed or not allowed by the zoning. It's not about having a special "right to farm" any more or less than it's about having a special "right to build a house." EDIT: Just add that the "right to farm" bylaws are mostly a reminder, especially to newcomers, that people have, um, a right to farm based on existing zoning. So don't move into our country town and then start a petition to close down the dairy farm down the street because it gets a bit smelly now and then during the summer.
- Kalium 12y agoWhen you live a place, you can and should have a right to attempt to change it. This is a basic tenet of American government (taxation, representation, etc.). Just because a place has "always" been a given way does not and should not mean it can never be different. That, I suppose, is a long way of saying that zoning can change. And sometimes other regulations change in ways that are inconvenient for some, especially when those people have failed to make a compelling case for why things should not change. We call this "democracy".
- LordKano 12y agoOh, it certainly can change. When the rightful owner of a property decides that it's time. You have no legitimate right to demand that anyone do anything with their property based on your preference.
- Kalium 12y agoOnly to the extent that details like democracy, zoning, and free speech permit. Which is to say you can demand all you like, but until enough people agree with you the right way it doesn't matter.
- LordKano 12y agoIt's intellectually dishonest to cling to the principles of democracy on the municipal level but then complain about them at the state level. "Right to farm" rules are an example of democracy in action.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]