A recent article at The Hill claims that property is a fundamental right. This claim illustrates why property rights are widely attacked and violated. The article approvingly states:
For liberals, property rights is a question of human rights and human decency: every human is entitled to a secure roof over their head and a plot of land to make a living on.
The implication of this claim is that a roof over one’s head and a plot of land is a property right. Which means, individuals have a right to such objects merely because they exist. Their own actions are irrelevant.
In truth, the right to property, like all rights, pertains to action. Specifically, the right to property means the freedom to take certain actions regarding material values. The right to property means the freedom to create, attain, use, keep, trade, and dispose of material values.
But if one has a right to a material value, regardless of his own actions, then others must provide that value. If an individual is unable to build or purchase a secure roof over his head, then others are obligated to provide that roof, lest they be guilty of violating his “rights.” (The same is true of education, health care, and a myriad of other values.)
When the notion that individuals have a right to a value is accepted, then actual rights are ultimately violated. When a builder must provide a secure roof for those unable to do so for themselves, his right to use his property as he chooses is violated. When a landlord must rent to those he deems unworthy, his right to trade his property as he chooses is violated.
There is no right to a material value. There is only the right to take the actions necessary to create or attain that value. And that right does not include forcing others to provide it.