The Greatness Of Private Property

In contemporary popular culture, private property is often derided as the root of evil. That the unequal divisions of economic product among the various elements of society are the fundamental cause of social ills.

That is not the case. Indeed, private property is the greatest idea which ever the imagination of man conceived. Private property is the foundation of a liberal society. James Madison once wrote that property, more broadly understood, is more than just the ownership of physical objects, it is the ownership of intellectual ideas.

The right of private property is defined through the principle of exclusion. It is the right to exclude others. Just as we have the right to exclude others from enjoying the benefits of our labor, we also have the right to exclude others from influencing our mind. This right of the property of our ideas is the foundation of a liberal society.

Social norms matter a great deal. A society in which private property is not the norm will not be inclined to respect the rights of individuals. Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of Russian communism, once said in reference to the Soviet government that "once we own everything, we can do anything.". A society in which certain matters are recognoized and respected as private is more inclined to be a liberal society.

There are two types of power in the world. One is the power of the purse, the other is the power of the sword. The worst type of society is one in which the purse and the sword are in the same hands. A society in which the sword and the purse are vested in two different groups would be acceptable. The best society would be one in which the sword is in the hands of one entity, a democratically elected government, and the purse in as many different hands as possible.

A society with private property allows the existence of factions. James Madison in Federalist 10 wrote that the unequal distribution of property is the most important cause of enduring factions. These enduring factions are the key to democracy.

One must view freedom as an absolute. Since the institution of private property is the foundation of a liberal society and the existence of factions which the institution of private property fosters are the foundation of democracy, we must view the right of private property as an absolute.