On private property

by Eric T. Freyfogle

Private property poses a great dilemma in American culture. We revere the institution and are quick to protect private property rights, yet we are troubled when landowners cause harm to their neighbors and communities, especially when new development fuels sprawl and degrades the environment. Recent Supreme Court cases and new state laws around eminent domain have generated great controversy, and yet many people are unsure where they stand on this issue.In this wide-ranging inquiry, law professor Eric Freyfogle explores the inner workings of the familiar but poorly understood institution of private property. He identifies the three threats it currently faces: government mismanagement, the recently reinvigorated property rights movement, and conservation groups’ efforts to buy tracts of land in order to protect them. He then offers a solution in the middle ground between the extreme sides of these debates.In On Private Property, Freyfogle gives glimpses of landownership’s surprising pas