Many libertarians and conservatives lament the constant violations of property rights. Sadly, they don’t realize that their attempts to defend property rights often do more harm than good. And that is because they often embrace the same premises as those attacking property rights. Consider a recent article by Brad Polumbo as an example.
In the article, Polumbo quotes Thomas Sowell. Property rights, Sowell said,
belong legally to individuals, but their real function is social, to benefit vast numbers of people who do not themselves exercise these rights.
In other words, property rights serve the “public interest.” Sowell, who is often an astute thinker, is egregiously wrong. And his error is the reason many advocates of the free market fail so miserably when defending property rights.
If we examine nearly any policy debate, including those involving property rights, we will find both sides proclaiming that they are representing the “public interest.” Of course, both claims can’t be true. In fact, neither claim is true. There is no such thing as the “public interest.” There are only the interests of individuals, and individuals have vastly diverse interests.
Individual rights, including property rights, protect our freedom to pursue our personal interests. Rights protect our freedom to take the actions we think will bring us happiness. The function of rights, including property rights, is to protect individual liberty, not the “public interest.” The function of rights is to protect our freedom to be moral.
If we wish to defend property rights, we must do so on moral grounds. To do anything less is to surrender our most potent weapon.