Mark Whittington argues for a property-rights approach to defending the earth against asteroids. He begins by noting that we can't rely on governments because the threat of an asteroid collision is too infitesimal to warrant an immediate and sustained response from the government. His solution is for the world community to grant property rights to those individuals who can detect and deal with any earth-crossing asteroids. He argues that the market value of the asteroid's minerals would be enough of an incentive to encourage private individuals to help defend the earth.

Unfortunately, his idea ignores geopolitical realities that surround resources that belong to the 'common heritage of mankind' (see the debate over deep seabed mining) and it fails to establish an incentive for individuals to deal with asteroids that really will threaten the earth. The slow moving and safe asteroids will be picked clean in his scheme. Additionally, some scholars argue that the development of an asteroid mining industry might even compound the threat of an accidental or intentional asteroid collision with the earth (see Daniel Duedney, 1983).