the artist formerly known as Radio Free Rothbard

Cross-posted to the Mises.org/blog:

The Spectrum Should Be Private Property: The Economics, History, and Future of Wireless Technology

How much of the spectrum should be privatized? All of it. Even the vast "beachfront property" held by the military? Yes, all of it. Most government-held spectrum is currently unused, but remains off-limits to private appropriation. The result, in the United States, is an artificial scarcity well beyond that imposed by the FCC's protectionist practices. How do we privatize the airwaves? If the spectrum confiscation were a recent development, the answer would be obvious. In today's world, matters are more complicated. [Full Article]

"It's the most extensive Rothbardian take on the topic that I've seen since, well, Rothbard."

-- Jesse Walker, author of Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America

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B.K. Marcus is an independent scholar in Charlottesville, Virginia. His last piece on "The Monetary Economics of Thurston Howell III" became the most viewed article in the history of Mises.org, while his article on election markets sparked a wide discussion of the relationship between prediction and pricing. See his website, send him mail, and comment on the blog.