Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

That would not be abuse. Eminent domain isn’t theft, and can hardly be characterized as illegal.



I think that it's clearly theft. Theft is when someone deprives another of the use of their property without their consent.

Eminent Domain can be justifiable under some circumstances, but it's still theft.


Theft is the unauthorized taking of another's property; eminent domain is the power of a state to take private property for public use which means it's expressly authorized. Eminent domain is included as state power in the US Constitution, so considering eminent domain as theft means partially rejecting the authority of the Constitution.

I think that's well within the scope of this conversation, but if we're going to be worried about the conversion of a private golf course into housing then we should really talk about what happened with Native American land treaties.

tl;dr: if we're redefining theft then that opens a huge can of worms.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: