Atascosa County Farm Bureau President Pete Pawelek has called for reform of Texas’s eminent domain laws. He claims that current law “favors for-profit companies, giving landowners few options in a fight for their property.” Pawelek went on to say,
Eminent domain is a necessary evil, but it should always be used as a last resort. We need to provide better balance and not allow condemning entities to take advantage in an unequal bargaining process.
What possible balance is there between good and evil? How much of a “necessary evil” should we accept before it becomes intolerable? In truth, no balance is necessary. Any concession to evil is a surrender to evil.
Sadly, Pawelek is hardly alone in holding this view. Many Texans regard eminent domain as necessary for the “public interest.” They complain when it goes “too far.” But if the alleged “public interest” can only be achieved through evil means, then we must question the ends that are being sought. Noble ends cannot be achieved through ignoble means. If eminent domain is truly a “necessary evil,” then the only issue up for debate is how and when to use evil against property owners.
True reform of eminent domain will not occur if we believe that it is a “necessary evil.” Any attempt at reform will be nothing more than an effort to find a better balance between good and evil. No matter the reforms legislators concoct, an evil institution remains.
Eminent domain is evil, but it is not necessary. Eminent domain forces property owners to “sell” their land, regardless of their own desires. It is legalized theft, and the fact that the property owner receives some compensation does not change this fact.
Imagine the outcry and indignation if a public official declared that theft is a “necessary evil.” Imagine the response if he argued that we needed a more balanced “bargaining process” between robbers and property owners. In principle, this is the position of those who call eminent domain a “necessary evil.”
Any attempt at reforming eminent domain must begin by rejecting the notion that it is necessary. Anything less means the acceptance of evil.