Property wrongs

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that municipalities may seize a person's land and give it to someone else who would increase its commercial and tax value. Czech MPs gave first-reading approval yesterday to a bill that might allow a similar move. Well-defined eminent-domain rules certainly have a place in Western law, but there's a thin line between "public interest" and graft or greed. The idea of forcing the elderly out of Prague 6 to make way for condos has crossed the mind of many a developer and politician. This new bill could make it happen. Richard Pipes, a Russian scholar, said the West owes its liberty and prosperity to a long and successful struggle for rights, of which the right to property is the most basic. Most people have no idea what debilitating effect restrictions on property rights can have, he said. Czechs, with their history, should have a better idea than most.