Are fully private communities possible? Ask Disney.
Ah, I see here that today is the anniversary of the beginning of construction on Disneyland in 1954, the carrying out of a vision of a fully private community of fun and fantasy. Its remarkable "small world" turned out to be a microcosm of a trend to the privatization and de-socialization of the entire world and the globalization of Disney's cultural imprint via free enterprise.
The Wikipedia entry on Disneyland makes for fascinating reading. The sign at the entrance: "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy." The number of people who have visited: half a billion plus.
Comments (8)
Chris Meisenzahl
I posted on this topic earlier this year:
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/traditional-neighborhood-development.html
Published: July 17, 2006 11:05 AM
Urbanitect
The New Urbanism has been a positive force to tame the completely chaotic nature of urbanization in North America, however they have failed to consider the institutional forces driving the chaos.
I expect that a city as a private enterprise is a better model for city building than a patchwork of HOAs. I cover it in this essay:
http://urbanitect.blogspot.com/2006/07/whats-wrong-with-urban-planning.html
Published: July 17, 2006 12:59 PM
JIMB
While "fully private communities" outside of states may be possible, Disney relies on state (i.e. violently) enforced law and national defense which already exist. This example (to non-libertarians at least) is probably more a statement of the limits of libertarian thinking than otherwise.
Published: July 17, 2006 2:00 PM
jeffrey
Disneyland benefits from U.S. foreign policy? The War in Iraq is keeping the Magic Kingdom open? Without the troops in Afghanistan, Mickey Mouse would be too afraid to crawl out of his hole in the wall? Consumers would never fork over to visit if a half trillion weren't looted every year to pay the costs of the US empire? JIMB, I just don't see it.
Published: July 17, 2006 2:06 PM
Reactionary
Disneyland exists because it is located in a country where the prevailing ethos is one of respect for private property and, failing that, because it can have trespassers arrested.
Published: July 17, 2006 2:24 PM
M E Hoffer
I think JIMB may be going "all the way" with his POV. There isn't a Donald Duck Air Force, an Aladdin CIA, a Pinocchio State Dept., or a Jiminy Cricket Special ops detachment, is there?
Published: July 17, 2006 2:32 PM
Kenneth R. Gregg
Jeffrey,
For your information, Spencer Heath, the earliest developer of the "proprietary community concept," now has a website devoted to his ideas and writings: http://spencerheath.blogspot.com/ which Spencer H. MacCallum, Alvin Lowi, Jr. and I have recently begun. We will be expanding upon a number of areas of his thought there.
Cheers!
Ken Gregg
http://spencerheath.blogspot.com/
http://charlestsprading.blogspot.com/
http://classicalliberalism.blogspot.com/
Published: July 17, 2006 3:31 PM
Curt Howland
M.E., A really fun alternative-reality story online right now is _Roswell, Texas_ http://www.bigheadpress.com/roswell?page=1 where California is an independent country run by, you guessed it, some Mickey Mouse outfit. :^)
Highly recommended!
Published: July 17, 2006 4:34 PM