In 2007, I served as a consultant to a group of citizens opposed
to an attempt to bring zoning to Hobbs, New Mexico. During that
time, I wrote a series of articles that were published in the
local newspaper. This is one of those articles. In a referendum,
zoning was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin. Those in favor of zoning
argue that restrictions on land use are necessary to protect
neighborhoods. In other words, the welfare of the group is more
important than the welfare of any individual. This is called
collectivism. This means that an individual may use his land
only with the permission of the group. And since “group” really
means a collection of individuals, this really means that some
individuals must abide by the demands of other individuals. Many
may say that this is simply democracy. However, it should be
noted that America is not a democracy, but a constitutional
republic. The American Constitution restricts the powers of
government, including the powers of any majority that controls
the government. A de