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| Property Rights |
| Fred Speaking
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 I'm not sure whether I believe that property rights should be absolute or near absolute. A lot of what Thomson says makes sense to me. But I want to say something about the value of property rights at a very practical level.In the 20th century we saw how the state can expand its power to an unprecedented degree. Both Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany were states gone mad. In both cases the unlimited expansion of state power ended up with the murder of millions of people. I think we can agree that it is extremely important that nothing like this happen again. The great importance of widely distributed private property and strong individual property rights is that it creates a barrier against the unlimited expansion of state power. I'm not being philosophical or sentimental here. This is a practical matter. The best way to prevent tyranny is to maintain a balance of independent powers in society. The federal government can be balanced on one side by the states, on another side by the owners of private property, and elsewhere by independent churches and many other organizations. In this way it can do its job, but not expand and abuse its powers. My fear about the welfare state that Ann supports is that it will expand its power and destroy personal freedom. Classic liberals in the 20th century, people like Friedrich Hayek and Frank Meyer, had the same fear. |
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