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They absolutely can. The fact they don't usually is not the same thing as can't. Railroads are often developed by private companies and the government will use eminent domain when necessary. The reason it is not done more is because it is unpopular, not because it can't be done. Also for electric companies. I'm not saying this is popular or used often (you can see from examples below it is often opposed by local people), because it isn't, but the use derives from the same principles about people and governments being able to control what land can be used for that you are in favor of. To be clear once more, I am not arguing about what does happen often, more how your justifications also justify your neighbors or government bulldozing your land if they felt it was necessary. Just as they prevent a developer building a condo when they think it is necessary.
https://apnews.com/article/eminent-domain-columbia-michael-brown-legislation-bills-60f6059347548fa3dbb4a544e7d8a30c
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2023-11-27/georgia-case-over-railroads-use-of-eminent-domain-could-have-property-law-implications
"In the past, the “public use” provision of eminent domain law has been used for things like roads, schools, parks, and other public facilities that could be accessed by all in the community. In recent years, the meaning of “public use” has been interpreted more loosely. In the controversial case of Kelo v. City of New London, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New London and decided that the city could take private property and give it to another private entity for “economic development.” However, despite spending millions of taxpayer dollars on the project’s proposal, nothing was ever constructed.
Now, oil and gas companies have this card to play when justifying land grabs. As suggested by a University of Minnesota Law professor, “in many natural resource–rich areas of the country… the knock on the door is less likely to come from a government official and much more likely to come from a mining, oil, or gas company representative.”"
I understand the point you’re trying to make, I just don’t agree with it.
If you want to live in some absolutely free of any regulations whatsoever place, then I also encourage you to move somewhere and create that place. My suspicion is that it will look more like Dharavi slum than San Francisco circa 2005, but I still encourage you or anybody else to try it.
My neighborhood, enacting the policies you don’t like, has been successful. People want to live here, and the success of the policies we have enacted is, I suspect, the thing attracting you to it.
What I’m asking is that if you want to try this new plan, just go do it somewhere else. There is TONS of land in this country which is empty. Go build your utopia!
You misunderstand, i am not saying the Libertarian version is better. I am almost certain it will not be. I am an authoritarian centralization proponent, and am all for zoning et al. I also acknowledge that eminient domain etc are derived from the same logic as zoning. That where necessary for better outcomes that the government must be able to force people and businesses to either do x or not do x as appropriate. And both are justified by the logic that your land is not just your land, everyone else in your society has an interest in how it is used, from zoning to building regs, to pollution laws,to eminient domain.
I think you don't go far in enough in other words. Your logic justifies things you appear to be against *eminient domain etc.)
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