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06/09/2005: "Europe – the Dittohead Property Rights Paradise"

Another very obvious aspect of life in Europe that Dittoheads would doubtless find endearing is the respect afforded to private property. The beach at Rimini is an excellent example. Imagine a very wide and very long stretch of gorgeous beach, comparing favorably to, say, California. Recall that in California there is no private ownership of a beach. Citizens of California are free to walk for miles along their beaches, even in front of celebrity homes. You can walk on the beach in Rimini too, but you have to pay. Kilometer after kilometer, there is one private beach after another, each about 100 meters in width. There are literally hundreds of them, maybe thousands. They’re usually associated with private clubs, or with resorts plopped on the other side of the main boulevard. Beach access isn’t cheap – I paid 10 Euros – about $12 - for the privilege of using the beach for a couple of hours. In fairness, that payment included an umbrella and beach chairs, but rental of these items was mandatory. This isn’t an isolated situation – Europe doesn’t have the concept of Eminent Domain found in the US Constitution, that government can compel sale of private land when there is a compelling public interest. This puts significant limits on government initiatives, a feature Dittoheads are perfectly comfortable with. It also mirrors European uneasiness with strong American-style federalism, exhibited by recent failure of referenda on the Euro Constitution in France and the Netherlands. This is the same Federalism that Dittoheads themselves reject. The bottom line: France is now a Dittohead inspiration!