A Conflict of Principles?

The Austin Statesman recently published an opinion piece about President Trump’s border wall that states,

Trump has said he is ready to take land from uncooperative property owners through eminent domain [to build the wall]. That creates a dilemma for Trump’s conservative supporters. Which do they want more: A border wall? Or private property rights?

In other other words, conservatives support a border wall and claim to support property rights. But building the border wall requires the violation of property rights through eminent domain. They appear to have a conflict of principles.

In fact, conservatives don’t have a conflict of principles. In fact, conservatives don’t support property rights as a matter of principle. They support property rights when it is politically expedient. And they will abandon property rights when that is politically expedient.

If one supports property rights, then one opposes the seizure of private property for any purpose. An individual who truly embraces a principle doesn’t make exceptions when it is expedient. Indeed, the true test of one’s belief in the principle is holding to it when it isn’t easy.

If conservatives truly supported property rights, then the entire issue of a border wall would be a non-issue. They would oppose the wall, whether eminent domain was involved or not.

The right to property means the freedom to create, attain, use, keep, and trade material values. If an individual born in another country wants to trade values with Americans, he has a moral right to do so. If Americans want to trade values with those born in another country, they have a moral right to do so. The border wall will impede such trades.

If one really understands the principle of rights, including property rights, then the dilemma confronting conservatives would not exist. The fact that they are facing a conflict between property rights and the border wall is evidence of that fact.