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Let me make something clear. I
am not saying that the labor that people
expend on a piece of land in the state of
nature (or on making a pair of shoes) has
NOTHING to do with whatever property rights
that person has to that land or those shoes.
I'm not saying that their labor confers NO
PROPERTY RIGHT WHATSOEVER to that land or
those shoes. On the contrary, I believe that
it does confer or justify a limited property
right.
What I am saying is that I
do not believe that their labor justifies the
extensive property rights that classic
liberals or modern libertarians advocate.
Furthermore, I believe that
there are competing moral concerns that
justify limitations on property rights
conferred by labor or other actions. They
might justify, for example, income taxes that
are then used to maintain a broad distribution
of property, develop public education, or
provide assistance for the poor.
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