But have you ever asked yourselves sufficiently how much the erection of every ideal on earth has cost? How much reality has had to be misunderstood and slandered, how many lies have had to be sanctified, how many consciences disturbed, how much "God" sacrificed every time? If a temple is to be erected a temple must be destroyed: that is the law – let anyone who can show me a case in which it is not fulfilled! – Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality
Right now Chicago is planning to destroy 20 acres of public park in order to erect the Obama Presidential Center. Does Chicago really need more buildings and less trees? Personally, I don't think that it does.
Here's the basic economic concern...
It is impossible for anyone, even if he be a statesman of genius, to weigh the whole community’s utility and sacrifice against each other. — Knut Wicksell, A New Principle of Just Taxation
I've attached a survey to this thread...
Should the presidential center be built in the public park?
Yes
No
We will be able to see which option is more popular. But what if we wanted to see which option is more useful? The city of Chicago could conduct the same survey but, instead of participants simply voting for their preferred option, they would spend any amount of money on it. This system would kill two birds with one stone...
1. Everybody would see and know the actual demand for/against the proposal.
2. The city would raise money to help reduce its ridiculously huge debt.
How much money would you be willing to spend on your preferred option?
From my perspective, the world needs a lot more trees and a lot less buildings. So I'd definitely spend my money on the "No" option. It's hard to say though exactly how much money that I'd be willing to spend. Definitely a dollar. Probably $5 dollars. Maybe $10 dollars. Not sure about $20 dollars.