Land in the American West: Private Claims and the Common Good

Abstract

Review: Land in the American West: Private Claims and the Common Good By William G. Robbins and James C. Foster Reviewed by Adam M. Sowards Shoreline Community College, USA William G. Robbins & James C. Foster (Eds). Land in the American West: Private Claims and the Common Good. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000. 224 pp. ISBN 0-295-98020-6 (paper). US$20.00. Recycled, acid-free paper. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, In no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more alert than in the United States (p. 53). Had he observed the American West in the 20th century, Tocqueville surely could have claimed that region took the love of property even deeper. This insightful and provocative collection of essays explores Westerners' relationship with land and property from various perspectives and makes an important contribution to environmental scholarship. The authors originally presented these analyses at a symposium designed to consider land use in the western United States that convened in January 1997 at Oregon State University. The symposium gathered some of the country's leading minds to intervene in continuing dialogue about land and property-related issues (p. ix). Spatial limitations necessarily restrict a presentation here of a detailed summary or analysis of each essay contained within Land in the American West. William G. Robbins, a historian, contextualizes the battles over public lands from the late 18th century to the 20th in the introduction. Robbins shows the enormous role the federal government played in land distribution and management, and emphasizes market forces that shaped federal land policy. It becomes clear that government policy, property rights, and market economy have long interacted The first part of the book presents Three Perspectives on Property Rights. Three articles by economist Daniel W. Bromley, legal and economic scholar Bruce Yandle, and political scientists Sarah Pralle and Michael W. McCann elucidate ideas concerning property and land. These essays demonstrate how dynamic property rights have been throughout American history and law. Recognizing the evolutionary nature of property rights may ameliorate conflicts in American society that have recently remained unresolved because of naming and blaming games. These essays provide provocative,