[MD] Quality decline

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Platt]
> the alternative is slavery

[Ian]
> who says the alternative is slavery?

[Ian]
> Who says there are not a million other alternative arrangements ...

That's my point.  There are a million other alternative arrangements, freedom is not just one of them, but the choosing between them. 

[Arlo]
Private property actually decreases our overall freedom. When the lake is community owned, anyone can use it at any time.

I agree to your example to some extent.  Real property, like air, water & other scarce goods, is not the best case for private ownership. But consider the following case:  a community owns enough lakes to satisfy its members.  A rich person offers to buy one of the excess lakes & offers so much money that the community would rather have the money than the lake.  It's win-win.
Craig