David Schorr
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300134476
- eISBN:
- 9780300189049
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300134476.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Making extensive use of archival and other primary sources, this book demonstrates that the development of the “appropriation doctrine,” a system of private rights in water, was part of a radical ...
More
Making extensive use of archival and other primary sources, this book demonstrates that the development of the “appropriation doctrine,” a system of private rights in water, was part of a radical attack on monopoly and corporate power in the arid West. It describes how Colorado miners, irrigators, lawmakers, and judges forged a system of private property in water based on a desire to spread property and its benefits as widely as possible among independent citizens. The book demonstrates that ownership was not dictated by concerns for economic efficiency, but by a regard for social justice.Less
Making extensive use of archival and other primary sources, this book demonstrates that the development of the “appropriation doctrine,” a system of private rights in water, was part of a radical attack on monopoly and corporate power in the arid West. It describes how Colorado miners, irrigators, lawmakers, and judges forged a system of private property in water based on a desire to spread property and its benefits as widely as possible among independent citizens. The book demonstrates that ownership was not dictated by concerns for economic efficiency, but by a regard for social justice.
