For years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) has leased 1,800 acres of privately owned land to operate the Fairfield Lake State Park. The owner of the land wanted to sell it, and for a year TPWC attempted to negotiate the purchase of the land. When those negotiations failed and the land was sold to a developer, TPWC announced that it would use eminent domain to seize the land, as well as 3,200 other acres. It is said that everything is bigger in Texas, and this land grab is no exception.
After the announcement, one commissioner said,
I think we have a clear duty to act for the greater good for all Texans. While we have the power of eminent domain, that power should be used sparingly and reluctantly.
In other words, the “greater good” justifies seizing private property. The commissioner didn’t bother to define the “greater good” because it’s undefinable. It can mean anything, depending on the whims of government officials.
It was reported that 80 percent of those who spoke at a TPWC hearing were in favor of using eminent domain. “The public” demanded that the property rights of the developer be sacrificed, and the commissioners were happy to satisfy that demand.
State Rep. Angelia Orr spoke in favor of using eminent domain:
While you may hear that one family’s business interests [the developer] may be important, I would submit to you that the interests of thousands of everyday, working class Texans are just as important. If condemnation isn’t used in this circumstance, and if now is not the time, then when?
What Orr failed to say, but strongly implied, is that the interests of non-owners are more important than the rights of the land’s owner. And that is precisely how TPWC acted.
According to altruism, individual good should be subordinated to the “greater good.” Individuals should put aside their own personal desires and interests in deference to the “public interest.” According to altruism, individual rights, including the right to property, are nothing more than permissions that can be revoked whenever “the public” demands it. According to altruism and Orr, the interests of thousands supersede the interest of one family.
If government can seize property whenever it deems it necessary to serve the “greater good,” then property rights are a mere chimera. The right to property means the freedom to produce, use, and trade values. As this Texas land grab makes clear, government officials are willing to destroy that freedom.