Mon. 12/05/28 21:28 EDT
.post #157
Seems like both of these are non-governmental, i.e., “private.” Maybe the word “private” connotes, for you, something negative, exclusionary, and potentially “dictatorial.” In some cases this might obtain. You can think of gated communities, for example, where access is restricted primarily or exclusively to members of the community and their invited guests or visitors. But, you can also imagine things like race tracks, large mall parking lots, roads or “ways” between townhouse-style condominiums, and even competitive, for-profit electronic-toll highways, such as this one:
Granted, this is not a true free market example (see financing and management), but it suffices to illustrate my point, namely, that “private” doesn’t necessarily mean “exclusionary” or “dictatorial.” These enterprises only survive by attracting customers, so their private owners have strong incentives (i.e. greed, and the desire to eat) to “play nice.”