Private Property
Contra the “Labor Theory of Property”
The Lockean (and Rothbardian) theory of initial acquisition of property involves the necessity of mixing one’s labor with an object in the ex
As Southern California Burns
Four years after the conflagration of 2003, we in southern California once again are enjoying the sight of pink skies not caused by the sun, the ar
The Language of Government Decisions
The government is thus able to anesthetize the public to tolerate — and indeed expect — decisions that are made without regard to right or wrong, but solely on the basis of the relative political influence of rent seekers and property owners.
Why Does Socialism Cause Pollution?
15 years ago Thomas DiLorenzo penned a concise piece detailing sever
The Blockean Proviso
I was having an interesting discussion via email about one of Walter Block’s arguments. A quick summary.
Are Rich People Parasites?
Often, supporters of a complete free market must face the objection that, without government welfare, some people could not survive. The standard reply to this is that, in a free market, private charity would attend to these people. Lewis's ingenious idea gives us a way gradually to approach a fully private system.
Thoughts on the Latecomer and Homesteading Ideas; or, why the very idea of “ownership” implies that only libertarian principles are justifiable
The following is an edited version of my recent post on a libertarian discussion list.
Coase and the light pole
Coasian ethics have come to roost in Ohio, or roast as the case may be (roasted soybeans in this instance).
Liberty versus Democracy
Madison stated the historic fact: in democracy there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. There is no protection for liberty. Hence it is, that democracies always destroy personal security (the Gestapo, the concentration camps) and the rights of property (what rights of property ownership are there in Europe, now?) and are as short in their lives as they are violent in their deaths.