Juan Garofalo wrote:

>>> It's not clear at all that the water under your property is yours. 
> 
> Gerhard :
>>Ok. I thought you were discussing from a point of "no common property"; ie.
>>everything is private property.
> 
>         Apparently you don't realize there's another option. Things can be
> un-owned, so to speak. 

Un-owned is ok, I guess. But you are talking about making un-owned
resources owned resources. This assumes an agreement about who gets to make
the un-owned resource his owned resource. What's that agreement? 

See, you may start drilling and pumping out oil. I get a better financing,
a bigger drill and pump, and simply suck all the oil off right in front of
your hole. All your effort to get some oil is now in vain. Ok with you?

(And of course James's question is still mine, too...)

> The point is, the price of natural resources is based on the effort it
> takes to 'mine' them. When you pay for oil, you basically pay for
> exploration and extraction. The oil itself is not private property. It's
> un-owned.

It seems to me that the moment you sell or burn it, you act as if it were
owned. Where did the transition happen, and to what rules?

Gerhard

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