[ExI] External costs (was Re: are all cultures equivalent?)

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 3:33 PM, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> On 19 Apr, 2009, at 1:07, Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
>
>> Present owners of an object, such as a cheeseburger, an Escher
>> drawing, or a lake, may elect to permanently destroy their property -
>> this is implicit in their rights of ownership. They may conclude that
>> they are better off if they transform the lake into a nuclear waste
>> repository and collect payments (let's assume here they invented a
>> method for keeping the waste there, in safe containers, similar to the
>> cooling pools currently used to store waste in nuclear power plants).
>
> Oh, and while we're assuming that, let's assume that they also invented a
> method for making everyone immortal by breathing radioactive fumes, and
> brightening their teeth. These waste dumpers deserve the Nobel prize!

### In these difficult discussion I always try to carve reality at the
joints, so as to avoid all kinds of emotional and other interference
while analyzing issues point by point. The assumption of lack of
radioactive spread which would damage the property of third parties is
necessary while we discuss whether lake owners have the right to do
whatever they please with it. If we tried discuss the question of
accidental damage to others (i.e. torts) while at the same time
grappling with the very notion of property rights, it would totally
overwhelm our cognitive capacities, wouldn't you think?

Rafal