The significance of property ownership has rarely been fully appreciated, writes Robert LeFevre.
He proceeds to present the entire libertarian case for private ownership, with his characteristic clarity of exposition. He makes what is a radically hard-core case for the absolute integrity of self ownership and property ownership but in a way that comes across as common-sense. He shows that how a society thinks about the issue of ownership is not just a matter of details; our very survival depends on it.
Here is an excellent overview of a topic that Mises said was the foundational idea of liberalism itself. But it’s more than an overview: it is a strong case for iron-clad, impenetrable, and no-exceptions social rules on ownership.
![The Philosophy of Ownership by Robert LeFevre](https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_650w/s3/static-page/img/The%20Philosophy%20of%20Ownership-large.jpg.webp?itok=Y0m6Uqlb 650w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_870w/s3/static-page/img/The%20Philosophy%20of%20Ownership-large.jpg.webp?itok=XZYCnnmq 870w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1090w/s3/static-page/img/The%20Philosophy%20of%20Ownership-large.jpg.webp?itok=F94KKKCE 1090w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1310w/s3/static-page/img/The%20Philosophy%20of%20Ownership-large.jpg.webp?itok=p3CJ6gdC 1310w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1530w/s3/static-page/img/The%20Philosophy%20of%20Ownership-large.jpg.webp?itok=bfBgHGc_ 1530w)
![](https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_650w/s3/static-page/img/4150.jpg.webp?itok=kn9bWHrT 650w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_870w/s3/static-page/img/4150.jpg.webp?itok=dGjnDXSw 870w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1090w/s3/static-page/img/4150.jpg.webp?itok=BI2sKXak 1090w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1310w/s3/static-page/img/4150.jpg.webp?itok=iJQvvbNR 1310w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1530w/s3/static-page/img/4150.jpg.webp?itok=aJduVcNq 1530w)
Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) ran the Freedom School and Rampart College, founded in 1957. He had a legendary impact on a whole generation of libertarians. LeFevre’s complete audio archives is available in Mises Media.
Rampart College Press, 1966.