The Privatopia Papers

Background...

"The Privatopia Papers" is a blog written by the author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government, which is described in Amazon.com "This book is the first comprehensive study of the political and social issues posed by the rise of common-interest housing developments and their private governments. Tracing the history of this type of housing from the nineteenth century to the present, McKenzie highlights the important but little-understood role public policy has played in advancing this large-scale "privatization for the few," and he concludes by considering the implications for civil liberties and for politics at all levels of government."  A number of the reviews of the book, on Amazon, were written by the people in these pages.  Its not too hard to guess which ones.

The blog is apparently his way of continuing to deal with the subject matter of the book.

One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputations.

Person behind it

"The Privatopia Papers" blog is run by Evan McKenzie and posts this as his bio:  "I teach political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. My regular fare is Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties, and The Judicial Process, as well as the basic American Government course. I also teach a course on the law of condominium and homeowner associations at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. I am also an attorney licensed in Illinois and California, and I handle the occasional case involving homeowner or condominium associations. I live in Lindenhurst, Illinois, with my wife and three children. Please note that while I sympathize with people who find themselves in HOA trouble and have no legal counsel I cannot and do not give free legal advice on matters from all over the nation. Nothing contained in this blog should be construed as legal advice. This blog is just intended to be informative and entertaining."

Our Opinion

For the most part, McKenzie reprints news items sent to him by others and then makes a few comments now and then.  The fact that no articles ever appear showing associations in anything other than a bad light helps him keep his credentials with the True Believers. 

We originally weren't going to include him on this site, because he really doesn't get into the bilious ranting of the others, but then we decided, what the heck, he gives them a cloak of validity.  I just hope he doesn't teach his students with the same one-sided partiality he shows associations.

What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in shaping history. He is far more at home in a society that weighs his every word and keeps close watch on his attitudes than in a society that cares not what he says or does. He would rather be persecuted than ignored.