An illustration of this in practice has been the
use of slum clearance in urban areas. Many of the houses demolished were irredeemable;
houses, like everything else, wear out. The removal of the worst slums, and rehousing into
better physical conditions, certainly benefited many individuals - though the social costs of
clearance were great, and the policy was not always unequivocally beneficial. Clearance
commonly took place at the expense of certain individuals who were content with their
house and did not want to move