Newell Fonda High School

Newell, Iowa

Teacher: Connie Doonan

Private Property is Crucial to Freedom
By Michelle Grau

12^th grade

Private property ownership is a key attribute that is based upon a person’s individual liberty. The concept of private property is crucial to freedom because it requires that an individual’s rights to property be well defined and able to be transferred from one person to another by agreement of both parties. Private Property can be defined as land not owned by the government or dedicated to public use. Many attempt to set a person’s property rights aside from other rights. They try to combine a person’s right to own property with a person’s right to do what they wish with their land. People are allowed [to] trade…property. Trade creates a lot of competition among people causing them to further their education and productivity in the work place. There is a sense of pride with what a person is allowed to own as their private property. Not all realize the value of their freedom until it is gone. Eminent domain...is [creating] exceptions to the Private Property Rule that should not be [created]. Although the ownership of private property is taken for granted by many, it is a valuable right that is crucial to freedom.

There have been many attempts to separate a person’s property rights from other rights that are outlined by the government. Some have argued that there is no such thing as private property, [but that] there are two forms of rights. [These people] believe that there are] property [rights] and human rights [and that] human rights are [superior to] property rights. In some federal court hearings, people claim that their religion and principles fall under…human rights [but I believe everything] falls under one general concept. Property rights should not be classified as just another human right, nor should they fall under the separate category of property rights. They are much more fundamental than that. Other rights that are given to the people are [rooted in] the concept of private property. … Private property is the [foundation for] all rights. …

People seem to strive to better themselves under the Private Property Rule. Having this freedom enables people to own their own property [and] express their individuality. … Having something [they] can…control…gives them a sense of pride. Private property also allows people to make trades, which is crucial to the development of cooperation and competition. …

Private property is something that should never be taken for granted. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruling was a [ghastly] example of how the government is able to dismiss…property [rights]. [That Court ruled] government can use eminent domain to take away a person’s land and give it to a developer for [the developer’s] private gain. This ruling is atrocious. .... If eminent domain can preside over the Private Property Rule, individual freedom is in danger. … The U.S. Constitution, [and the] constitutions [of some] states, [declare] that private property can only be taken for public use, such as [for] a public building or [necessary] road. Private property should not be taken away from people for economic gain, no matter the situation. ...

[As I said previously,] …private property…should be [freely traded by written] agreement. … Property rights are the basis for almost all other rights that are defined by the government. [I believe] human rights fall under the rights of property, for the Private Property Rule structures the rights expressed. ... Private property is crucial when it comes to individual freedom.

Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading

Q1- Why does Machan use "steal" in his statement: "Private property solves this problem, but was abandoned a long time ago when taxes reached the point where we can steal our way to being provided with all sorts of things we desire, never mind thinking about paying for them or long-range budgeting."?

Machan uses “steal” in his statement to explain how people want to receive all the benefits of the Government funded programs. The people push for more, but they do not realize that the taxes that they complain about are what are paying for the benefits. The people do not want to pay the taxes, but still want the program and benefits, which is why it is referred to as “stealing.”

Q2- Machan said: "For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." Give two examples of this from your personal experience.

An example of something that common to the greatest number that has the least care bestowed upon it would be a bedroom. My bedroom for instance is usually clean and tidy. It stays that way because I take pride in what my living space looks like. Unlike my bedroom, the people that stay in them do not always keep hotel bedrooms clean. Sometimes a maid will find a bedroom that a guest slept in to be trashed. People that decide to trash the bedrooms in hotels do not care because they do not have to clean up the mess that they make.

Another example would be a desk. Desks that are in my home get a lot of attention and care bestowed upon them. We make sure that they are kept clean and dusted on a regular occasion. We also check them over to make sure that they do not have scratches on them. Unlike a desk that is in a family home, people do not treat desks on school property with the same amount of respect. People draw on them and occasionally carve stuff into them. They do not worry about what a desk at school looks like because it is not their property, so therefore it is not their responsibility to deal with.

Q3- Do you agree with Machan that "...everybody is more inclined to neglect the duty which he expects another to fulfill; as in families many attendants are often less useful than a few."? Give an objective example of this.

I agree with Macham that “…everybody is more inclined to neglect the duty which he expects another to fulfill; as in families many attendants are often less useful than a few.” If a person is assigned a job and it ends up not getting done nobody else is going to do it because it was assigned to the person who didn’t get it done. An example would be if someone needs help on a homework assignment and asks a teacher for help, but the teacher refuses to help them. Fellow classmates are going to think well if the teacher didn’t help him why should I?

Are We Going the Way of Rome? (Lawrence Reed)
Q4- State Kershner's First Law.  Do you agree or disagree and why?

Kershner’s first law states, “when a self-governing people confer upon their government the power to take from some and give to others, the process will not stop until the last bone of the last taxpayers is picked bare.” I disagree, because the poor have to pay the taxes, which are causes them to become poorer.

Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?

The first industry to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA was the transportation industry. Transportation allowed people to get to their destinations easier and in a more efficient manner.

Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.

Cheapened money was the cause of inflation. The more money people spend without backing it up the more inflation is going to come of it.

Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?

It turned Rome’s economy into an economic disaster. The Edict of 301 established a system of comprehensive wage and price controls, to be enforced by a penalty of death. People would not bring provisions (their things to market) any more because they couldn’t get a reasonable price for them.

Liberty and Individual Responsibility (Dwight R. Lee)
Q8- Lee claims that individuals could be "entirely independent of others" except for what? Explain.

Lee claims that individuals could be “entirely independent of others” except for scarcity. In a world that didn’t have scarcity each individual could be entirely independent of others. Each person could have freedom in everything that they do and it could have no impact on anyone else. We live in a world of scarcity though. That means that everyone has to interact with each other and the interactions are regulated through the rules of social conduct.

Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.

Although scarcity makes cooperation desirable, the dilemma of the situation is that scarcity ends up making competition impossible to avoid or prevent. Every human being wants more than what they have and the only way to get more is by competing against others for the right to own limited resources.

Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?

The concept of private property is crucial to freedom because it requires that individual rights to property be well defined and able to be transferred from one individual to another by agreement of both parties. When a system of social cooperation and communication is established, the liberty of the individual is compatible with the liberty of all as a whole. It is dependent on individual liberty.

Lawrence Reed's testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Commtitee.
Q11- Argue both pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and aid for the poor.

The government could give many things, yet it could take away many things. He wanted to let the poor people be on their own because if they were given everything then they would have to take those things from someone else. Yet, he does say that if the poor were actually trying to make something of their situations that they should be given the help they needed. He didn’t believe in letting down the people that were doing all that they could, yet at the same time he doesn’t like the idea that stuff is taken from some people and given to others.

Q12- "If people are free, they will not earn equal incomes; conversely, show me a people who have equal incomes and I will show you a people who are not free." Explain in your own words Mr. Reed's meaning.

It is basically the difference between communism and a democracy. Mr. Reed’s statement means that communist societies of people are equal since the government divides up everything between the people. However, the people can’t choose their jobs and other things in life so they are not free. In a democracy, people are free to live their lives as they please. People who have the required determination can become whatever they want to become and earn a lot of money, yet ones that take smaller jobs get smaller wages for the work they do. These people are free but not on an equal basis. There are varying degrees of richness because the people are allowed to choose what they do.

 

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