PROPERTY RIGHTS MATTER

Essential to our Freedom

Many are familiar with the Tragedy of the Commons, by Garrett Hardin.    In the tale, land that had been privately owned becomes a shared resource for the community.  People quickly overgraze the land destroying the crops others grew.  No one cleans up the space.  A once-fertile piece of land becomes worthless.  When everyone owns something, no one owns it. So, no one cares.

In the latest issue of the Epoch Times, Jeffrey A. Tucker penned “The Theft of the Commons,” reiterating a point too many have forgotten.  As he quoted Bastiat, “As official institutions become ever less protective of property rights people’s own respect for each other’s property would decline.”  This leads to a rapid increase in theft of ALL property, both public and private. 

As is so often the case, what government says and does has a huge impact on how people view the world.  When arrests and penalties decline (official acts), people feel empowered to steal.  Why not?  At worst, you waste a bit of time at the police station and then, are released without penalty.  By the way, the same thing is happening at our border.  When we don’t punish lawbreakers, and, in fact, reward them, as we do with illegals, we get a lot more of them.

While Democrats chip away at property rights, first doubling down on eminent domain (see Little Pink House), now, they demand that, as WEF says, “You will own nothing and be happy.”  This begins with letting anyone rob you, strip empty houses, squat in a house so that they can own it, grab your car and so much more. 

Moral Hazard

While none of us want our personal possessions taken, public asset theft can have an even greater impact.  Increasing numbers of thugs are stripping copper wire wherever they find it.  They sell it for a profit, to them. but the cost to the public can be very high.  When streetlights, bridge parts, hydrants and electrical cables are stolen, people can die and property is destroyed.  Police can’t fix this problem; having more of them won’t really help. 

“When plunder becomes a way of life, men create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it AND a moral code that glorifies it,” Bastiat said.  We have a lot of “common” public property and we rely on the idea that it is there to be appreciated and used by everyone.  Not stolen.  Not destroyed.  When we glorify those who destroy public property, including statues they don’t like, we get more destruction.  Without a cultural respect for property rights, a cultural consensus on respecting those rights, institutions fall apart.  It might seem as if a failure of this magnitude would take a lot more to empower those who want it, but it doesn’t.  Our fragile society depends on having a moral code which enshrines property rights and making the consequences for those who don’t severe.

Our country is suffering moral decay.  The “fix” can only come from a radical U-turn in what families teach their children, how schools educate their students, how the media frames crime and civilized behavior, and yes what our governing bodies make illegal and what they protect. 

Open borders with freebies for illegals, ignoring statue toppling, no bail, free college and guaranteed basic income all are bombs exploding our moral values.  This isn’t about religion, but when more people were church-goers, this didn’t happen so often. 

We need to turn this around, making sure that our politicians, educators and media are people who respect our Constitution, our moral values and our country.  Sadly, I’m not sure how we can transform the turpitude, but it starts with how you raise your children and how you vote.  And we can all call out people who do these things; embarrass them by taking pictures and posting them on social media.

The Little Pink House