Private Property and Public Power - Becher, Debbie (Assistant Professor of Sociology, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Barnard College, Columbia University)

This book examines how citizens judge whether government is abusing its power when making use of eminent domain. Debbie Becher argues that neither a belief in property rights nor a desire for growth guide popular evaluations of government legitimacy. Instead, community residents, businesses, government bureaucrats, and politicians all appeal to a shared notion of investment to justify policy.