It would be an gross understatement to say that I am not a fan of environmentalists. I think that environmentalists are among the most nihilistic human beings who have ever existed. But they have a mantra–think globally and act locally–that is interesting, informative, and worth emulating.
In essence, the mantra means: apply a principle to the specific issues impacting you. While you may not change the world, you can change your world. You may not be able to change national or international policies, but you have a reasonable chance of changing policies in your community.
If we examine the history of environmentalism, we see this applied time after time. Something is declared to be bad for the “environment,” such as plastic bags or cutting down old trees, and activists parade in the streets and clog City Hall demanding that the offending practice be stopped. They are thinking globally, but acting locally. And it has been effective.
Defenders of property rights should adopt the same strategy. But unlike environmentalists, we will have reason and morality on our side.
Thinking globally and acting locally in regard to property rights means defending the principle of property rights. It means defending the property rights of others, even when our own right to property doesn’t seem to be threatened. In truth, a threat to anyone’s property rights is a threat to everyone’s property rights.