A free society cannot exist unless government is
foreclosed from confiscating property. If government can take away
property or control property, it can take away freedom of speech,
religion, press.
—Alexander Hamilton
The moment the idea is admitted into society
that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is
not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and
tyranny commence.
—John Adams
Private property was not practiced in America
until three years after the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. That
colony had been established on pure and unadulterated communism, for it
made no difference what or how much anyone produced; it was
commandeered, backed by whippings if need be, and placed in a communal
storehouse. It was then doled out to each according to his need.
In other words, the Pilgrims began with an idea
that two centuries later would be the ideal of the Communist party—from
each according to his ability; to each according to his need. After
three years this idea was dropped and for good reason. They were
starving. When people starve, they frequently stop and think. Came the
third winter of discontent and 50 of the 102 who came across on the
Mayflower had died. Gov. Bradford called everyone together one evening
and said, in effect, anyone can give away what's in the storehouse, but
this assumes that there is something in the storehouse to give; however,
under our system, there is nothing there. In the spring, instead of
giving to each according to need, we are going to try a new idea—to each
according to merit or production. And when spring arrived, according to
the governor's diary, something phenomenal occurred. Previously only the
men worked the fields, but now not only the men were there but also the
wives and children.
In the governor's words, "Every family (was
assigned) a parcel of land, for present use ... This had very good
success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn
was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the governor or
any other could use." What the Pilgrims did was to begin to practice the
idea of private ownership, not perfectly, but more perfectly than it had
ever been practiced before. From that time on, they never again starved
and Plymouth Colony prospered and grew.
The right to life is the source of all rights and
the right to property is the only way to secure them. Without property
rights, no other rights can be exercised. You cannot exercise freedom of
religion, speech, press or assembly if the government owns or controls
all property and if you are trespassing upon the very land you walk.
"The right of property," Arthur Lee of Virginia
declared, "is the guardian of every other right, and to deprive people
of this is in fact to deprive them of their liberty." Later on, Karl
Marx would write to the contrary, "Communism may be summed up in the
single sentence, abolition of private property." According to the Index
of Economic Freedom, nearly every country that has followed that
doctrine has failed. (The exception, oil rich nations). Think of the
former Soviet Union, North Korea, or Mao's China. The more that
governments interfere in free markets, the more they hamper economic
growth and lower the standard of living of their citizens.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the Fifth Amendment
is the guardian of all our rights. At least it was until the U.S.
Supreme Court abolished federal protection of property rights last June
in Kelo v. New London. The court held that any government jurisdiction
can take anyone's property and give it to another private party if
deemed for a "public purpose." Earlier courts held the opposite view.
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story opined, "(A society) can scarcely be
deemed to be free where the rights of property are left solely dependent
upon the will of a legislative body, without any restraint."
California cities, without restraint, are making
the building of new churches extremely difficult because they pay no
taxes. The city of Cypress was willing to condemn a church property for
Costco, which promised to pay property taxes to Cypress. In San Diego, a
golf course and Ferrari dealership have been declared blighted and
subject to condemnation. In 1922, a prescient Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes warned, "The general rule, at least, is that while property may
be regulated to a certain extent; if the regulation goes too far, it
will be recognized as a taking ... the natural tendency of human nature
is to extend the qualification more and more until, at last, private
property disappears."
God has granted us an unparalleled cornucopia that
benefits every strata of society. The average American today lives far
better than the kings and queens, princes and potentates, the wealthiest
of the wealthy, of just a hundred years ago. Most obviously, it's in
terms of communication, transportation, refrigeration, heating and
air-conditioning, telephones, televisions, computers, medical care, etc.
Even the poorest in America live better today than the average person in
all but about a half dozen other countries in the world, all due to
America's limited government, market economy, and history of private
property. How do you stand on private property?
