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2 Cato J. 55 (1982)
Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution

handle is hein.journals/catoj2 and id is 57 raw text is: LAW, PROPERTY RIGHTS, AND AIR POLLUTION Murray N. Rothbard Introduction: Law as a Normative Discipline Law is a set of commands; the principles of tort or criminal law, which we shall be dealing with, are negative commands or prohibi- tions, on the order of thou shalt not do actions, X, Y, or Z.1 In short, certain actions are considered wrong to such a degree that it is considered appropriate to use the sanctions of violence (since law is the social embodiment of violence) to combat, defend against, and punish the transgressors. There are many actions against which it is not considered ap- propriate to use violence, individual or organized. Mere lying (i.e., where contracts to transfer property titles are not broken), treachery, base ingratitude, being nasty to one's friends or associates, or not showing up for appointments, are generally con- sidered wrong, but few think of using violence to enjoin or combat them. Other sanctions - such as refusing to see the person or have dealings with him, putting him in Coventry, etc. - may be used by individuals or groups, but using the violence of the law to prohibit such actions is considered excessive and inappropriate. Cato journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Spring 1982). Copyright @ Cato Institute. All rights reserved. The author is Professor of Economics at the Polytechnic Institute of New York, Brooklyn 11201. 1Legal principles setting down certain prohibited actions as torts or crimes are to be distinguished from statutes or administrative edicts that lay down positive demands, such as thou shalt pay X amount of taxes or thou shalt report for induction on such and such a date. In a sense, of course, all commands can be phrased in such a way as to appear negative, such as thou shalt not refuse to pay X amount of taxes, or thou shalt not disobey the order to appear for induction. Why such rephrasing would be inappropriate will be discussed below. See below also for a discussion of torts vis-a-vis crimes. 55

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