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Dee is a libertarian. She believes that individuals have a set of natural rights based on their capacity to reason and to plan their lives. People have the same rights regardless of race, color, or sex. For Dee, the role of government is largely limited to making sure that individuals can exercise their individual rights and be free from violations of their rights. In general, Dee advocates minimal government and maximum freedom of contract between individuals. She believes in strong property rights, in part because she regards property as a safeguard for other freedoms.

For libertarians, property rights are fundamental. To make their case, they must first justify strong property rights in natural objects such as land. This is called the problem of "initial acquisition." Some libertarians point out that each of us has a kind of property in ourselves. The difficult step is to make the transition from this property in ourselves to property in external things. Critics of libertarianism sometimes rely on a qualification made by John Locke in 1690. Locke believed that natural objects could only be taken as personal property if there was "enough, and as good left in common for others." The meaning and implications of this qualification are still debated.

The libertarian view is not the only way to think of property, and historically it has not been the most common. For example, early Christian theorists often thought of the earth and its resources as given by God to humankind in common. Ideas of private property were always limited by this notion. Later, in the work of the 13th-century philosopher Thomas Aquinas, property is seen as legitimate and necessary; but its use is limited by the common good. His view is the basis of the 20th-century Catholic view of property as stewardship. Many views of property and its justification have been put forward. What sort of property do you think can be justified? Why?