Ocean privatization
Encyclopedia
Ocean privatization is the sale of the ocean
s to private individuals or companies. Libertarian
s have long proposed such privatization
.
The Market for Liberty
, published in 1970, stated that "as companies drilling for off-shore oil have proved, there is no reason why a piece of land cannot be owned and used simply because it is covered by water." In proposing privatization, Walter Block
stated that "there are vast areas of human existence where private property rights play no role at all: oceans, seas, rivers and other bodies of water. But why should we expect that there would be any better results from such 'water socialism' than we have experienced from socialism
on land?" Murray Rothbard
's For a New Liberty
likewise notes, "Anyone can capture fish in the ocean, or extract its resources, but only on the run, only as hunters and gatherers. No one can farm the ocean, no one can engage in aquaculture
. In this way we are deprived of the use of the immense fish and mineral resources of the seas...Even now there is a simple but effective technique that could be used for increasing fish productivity: parts of the ocean could be fenced off electronically, and through this readily available electronic fencing, fish could be segregated by size. By preventing big fish from eating smaller fish, the production of fish could be increase enormously." Mary Ruwart
's Healing Our World states, "Owners would also be more likely to invest in artificial reef
s to bolster the fish population. Whaler
s could operate only with the permission of the owners, much as hunters must request permission to stalk deer on privately owned land. Ocean owners profit most by making sure that the valuable species in their region are not hunted to extinction." Much as ownership of land also, under the common law
, included ownership of all the airspace above him upward indefinitely unto the heavens and downward into the center of the earth, and causing polluted air to enter another person's airspace would constitute aggression
, causing polluted water to enter waters owned by another person would constitute aggression that would be legally treated as such, under an anarcho-capitalist system.
In 2009 George Mason University professor Peter T. Leeson has suggested that ocean privatization could help combat Somalian piracy. Ršgnvaldur Hannesson's book The Privatization of the Oceans argues that privatization will help alleviate the tragedy of the commons. Donald R. Leal's Let's Homestead the Oceans argues that regulation has failed and that individual transferable quotas, which guarantee each fisher a specific share of the total allowable catch before the season begins, should be established, or preferably, fullfledged property rights either to fishing areas or to the fish themselves should be created. The article argues that The more secure the property rights, the healthier fish populations and fishing communities will be. Some questions that arise in reference to water privatization are what areas are to be privatized exactly; how it can be ensured that the general public interest is not corrupted by private corporations acting alone or with government collusion to destroy these once-public resources; what would be a fair price to privatize oceanic tracts; how to hand over title to private firms to manage water resources; and how to manage any future transfers from one private institution to another.
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
s to private individuals or companies. Libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
s have long proposed such privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
.
The Market for Liberty
The Market for Liberty
The Market for Liberty is an anarcho-capitalist book written by Linda and Morris Tannehill, which according to Karl Hess has become "something of a classic." It was preceded by the self-published Liberty via the Market in 1969. Mary Ruwart credits the Tannehills and their book with winning her over...
, published in 1970, stated that "as companies drilling for off-shore oil have proved, there is no reason why a piece of land cannot be owned and used simply because it is covered by water." In proposing privatization, Walter Block
Walter Block
Walter Edward Block is a free market economist and anarcho-capitalist associated with the Austrian School of economics.-Personal history and education:...
stated that "there are vast areas of human existence where private property rights play no role at all: oceans, seas, rivers and other bodies of water. But why should we expect that there would be any better results from such 'water socialism' than we have experienced from socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
on land?" Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
's For a New Liberty
For a New Liberty
For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto is a book by American economist and historian Murray N. Rothbard, first published in 1973, that helped launch the modern libertarian movement in the United States, and was the first modern free market anarchist manifesto For a New Liberty: The...
likewise notes, "Anyone can capture fish in the ocean, or extract its resources, but only on the run, only as hunters and gatherers. No one can farm the ocean, no one can engage in aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
. In this way we are deprived of the use of the immense fish and mineral resources of the seas...Even now there is a simple but effective technique that could be used for increasing fish productivity: parts of the ocean could be fenced off electronically, and through this readily available electronic fencing, fish could be segregated by size. By preventing big fish from eating smaller fish, the production of fish could be increase enormously." Mary Ruwart
Mary Ruwart
Mary J. Ruwart, Ph. D. is a research scientist and libertarian speaker, writer, and activist. She was a leading candidate for the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nomination and is the author of the award-winning international bestseller "Healing Our World."-Biography:Born in Detroit, Ruwart...
's Healing Our World states, "Owners would also be more likely to invest in artificial reef
Artificial reef
An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....
s to bolster the fish population. Whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s could operate only with the permission of the owners, much as hunters must request permission to stalk deer on privately owned land. Ocean owners profit most by making sure that the valuable species in their region are not hunted to extinction." Much as ownership of land also, under the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, included ownership of all the airspace above him upward indefinitely unto the heavens and downward into the center of the earth, and causing polluted air to enter another person's airspace would constitute aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
, causing polluted water to enter waters owned by another person would constitute aggression that would be legally treated as such, under an anarcho-capitalist system.
In 2009 George Mason University professor Peter T. Leeson has suggested that ocean privatization could help combat Somalian piracy. Ršgnvaldur Hannesson's book The Privatization of the Oceans argues that privatization will help alleviate the tragedy of the commons. Donald R. Leal's Let's Homestead the Oceans argues that regulation has failed and that individual transferable quotas, which guarantee each fisher a specific share of the total allowable catch before the season begins, should be established, or preferably, fullfledged property rights either to fishing areas or to the fish themselves should be created. The article argues that The more secure the property rights, the healthier fish populations and fishing communities will be. Some questions that arise in reference to water privatization are what areas are to be privatized exactly; how it can be ensured that the general public interest is not corrupted by private corporations acting alone or with government collusion to destroy these once-public resources; what would be a fair price to privatize oceanic tracts; how to hand over title to private firms to manage water resources; and how to manage any future transfers from one private institution to another.
See also
- Common heritage of mankindCommon heritage of mankindCommon heritage of mankind is a principle of international law which holds that defined territorial areas and elements of humanity's common heritage should be held in trust for future generations and be protected from exploitation by individual...
- Extraterrestrial real estateExtraterrestrial real estateExtraterrestrial real estate is land on other planets or natural satellites or parts of space that is sold either through organizations or by individuals. Ownership of extraterrestrial real estate is not recognised by any authority...
- Free-market environmentalismFree-market environmentalismFree-market environmentalism is a position that argues that the free market, property rights, and tort law provide the best tools to preserve the health and sustainability of the environment...
- Freedom of the seasFreedom of the seasFreedom of the seas is a principle in the international law and law of the sea. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans. It also disapproves of war fought in water. The freedom is to be breached only in a necessary international agreement....
- International Seabed AuthorityInternational Seabed AuthorityThe International Seabed Authority is an intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, that was established to organize and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans...
- International watersInternational watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
- Land claim
- SeasteadingSeasteadingSeasteading is the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territories claimed by the governments of any standing nation....
- Terra nulliusTerra nulliusTerra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "land belonging to no one" , which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished...
- Territorial claims in Antarctica
- Territorial watersTerritorial watersTerritorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaThe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
- Water privatizationWater privatizationWater privatization is a short-hand for private sector participation in the provision of water services and sanitation, although sometimes it refers to privatization and sale of water resources themselves . As water services are seen as such a key public service, water privatization is often...