In Part 1 of this series, we examined how property rights protect the freedom of the “little guy” to improve his economic status. But when property rights are violated, the opportunities are diminished. The minimum wage is one example. Suppose an employer could use someone to perform mundane tasks, such as sweeping the floor or…
We often think of property rights in regard to the wealthy and big corporations. In a certain sense, this is understandable. They have a lot of property. But property rights are important to everyone, including the “little guy” who has little property. The right to property means the freedom to create, use, keep, trade, and…
Persuading others to adopt our position on an issue (or move closer to our position) can be a difficult task. Yet, if we wish to successfully defend property rights, we must persuade those who are ambivalent or opposed to our position. We cannot do this through patronizing lectures or divisive claims about our opponents. This …
What is property? What are rights? What does the right to property mean? The answers to these questions are crucial. Our answers will determine our effectiveness in defending property rights. In this course, you will learn the source of property and the nature of rights. You will learn what the right to property entails, and…
For decades, we have witnessed the steady erosion of property rights across the United States. Zoning, eminent domain, business and environmental regulations, and much more are used as tools to slowly chip away at right to property. In this course, you will learn why common methods used to defend property rights are doomed to ultimately…
Advocates of historic preservation talk about preserving our heritage. They claim that the way to do this is to protect old buildings, usually through ordinances and other regulations. But a discussion of the issue must consider the full context, and that means a careful examination of what constitutes our heritage. Heritage refers to that which…
For decades, the Left has asserted that we have a right to a variety of values, from a “living wage” to education, from health care to high speed Internet access. In making these fallacious claims, they advocate violating actual rights. If we have a right to a particular value then the producers of that value…