Gated Communities

[Philip Copeman]

I often get criticized for supporting the concept of gated communities. The argument is that gated communities create social divisions. However, they undeniably create wealth. I recently got a a whole lot of "let them eat cake" comments when I advanced the need to promote gated communities to create property wealth.

Unless you follow my blogs and get into my writing, I come over initially as heartless and unsympathetic. As someone who favors neo capitalist solutions, I seek ways if increasing wealth. Rather than looking for fairy tale ideas of uplifting everybody, focus on real solutions that give a few the opportunity to uplift themselves. I do not promote ideas that exclude. Participation in wealth creation is voluntary. However we should view with the harshest criticism, detractors whose only argument against wealth creation is that it is not universal.  So with that in mind..


People invest in themselves and when the community is open any investment gets dissipated. The aim of gated communities is to raise the capital assets of those inside the community. This is not to cause any harm to those outside, who a free to go about their business as before, but simply to offer those "inside" the chance to invest in their own future. We are not asking for these communities to be "sponsored", just simply offer the participants the right to selectively invest in their own assets. The universal benefit comes indirectly through increases rates and taxes.

What makes gated communities succeed is that the rules inside the system are harder that the rules outside. It is more expensive to participate, there are curbs on behavior in excess of the behavior outside. The upside of this is that like minded people can invest in a common future.  Now right now in townships all over South Africa, investment is wasted because there are no opportunities for community members to invest in property improvement and in particular no easy means for them to exit profitably from their investments. Gated communities inside shack settlements will correct that!

Gated communities create wealth. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly for those that wish to participate. They certainly do not harm those that choose not to participate.