Freedom, capitalism, property rights, and the rule of law are inextricably linked.
Each flows into the other. All are weakened when any are attacked. All are vital to sustain a republic of sovereign individuals. The enemies of freedom understand this better than its defenders.
Each flows into the other. All are weakened when any are attacked. All are vital to sustain a republic of sovereign individuals. The enemies of freedom understand this better than its defenders.
If you don't really own your property, you can't fully engage in capitalism. If you can't use your capital as you see fit, you don't really own it. If property rights are not protected, there is no true rule of law, only abstract ideals and exercises of political power.
Property rights give muscle and bone to the core freedom, the one that really matters: the right to refuse, to say "no." If your property rights are not respected, you can be forced to do just about anything. Ambitious tyrants will never stop inventing ways to compel you.
Property ownership is, at heart, the right to refuse when someone demands you surrender what you own, or allow it to be used in a way you deem unacceptable. The rule of law lays out a few reasonable restrictions that improve the trust level required for prosperous commerce.
If you truly own your property - your capital, including your own labor as well as tangible goods - then you cannot be compelled to surrender it. You must be PERSUADED to use, invest, or sell it. You are truly free only when you can say "no" to offers you don't like.
The 3rd Amendment expresses this principle: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Consent means the State has to take "no" for an answer.
Consent means the State has to take "no" for an answer.
There is always friction between the exercise of rights, which is where the rule of law comes in. When freedom, property rights, and the voluntary employment of private property for mutually beneficial commerce - i.e. CAPITALISM - are in harmony, law is sensible and sustainable.
When the right to own property, and the right to use it as the owner wills (capitalism) are attacked, freedom and the rule of law are wounded as well. If you truly own nothing - not even your own labor! - you're not free. If you can't use your capital, you don't own it.
The assault on property reduces the ability of the people to say "no" to the demands of their rulers. You can see this clearly in America today. "Consent of the governed" is a joke. Titanic amounts of property have been seized through taxation, regulation, mandates, etc.
The American people now own much less than half of their own country, and the amount is dwindling constantly. This is accompanied by a commensurate decrease in freedom. You can't even comprehend the scale of the State's power, let alone refuse it or take your liberty back.
Biden's unconstitutional rental power grab is the latest and most vulgar proof that you "own" much of your property only in a theoretical sense. The State really owns everything now, and will prove it by telling you how your capital must be used, or who occupies your property.
Maybe you'd still be asked for consent before troops were quartered in your home... but Joe Biden just said your consent is no longer necessary if he decides to quarter other people on your property indefinitely, without compensation or regard for the value of your capital. /end
Addendum: the false promise of socialism is that freedom can blossom while property rights wither - the "freedom from need" imposed through collectivism will make all others flourish. The grim reality of socialist tyranny has proven time and again that this is a lie.
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