Like most conservatives, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claims to support property rights. And, like most conservatives, he carves out exceptions. In doing so, DeSantis and his fellow conservatives are negating the principle of property rights.
As an example, DeSantis recently defended the use of eminent domain when it serves a “public purpose”:
So sometimes you need to build the Interstate highway system, like they did under (former President Dwight D.) Eisenhower. Sometimes you need to do things like the Keystone XL pipeline for energy that has a public use.
The right to property means the freedom to produce, trade, and use material values, including land. Eminent domain enables the government to seize private property regardless of the owner’s desires. In other words, eminent domain forces individuals to involuntarily “trade” their property.
When one makes exceptions to a principle, one is claiming that the principle can be violated whenever it is convenient. The principle is no longer an inviolate guide to action, but instead, it becomes a fuzzy rule that can be rejected whenever one chooses. And this is precisely what conservatives do in regard to property rights.
Either individuals are free to produce, trade, and use material values, or they are not free to do so. DeSantis and his ilk claim that you are free to produce, trade, and use values until they determine otherwise. That isn’t a right to property. It is a temporary permission that can be revoked whenever the rulers choose to do so.
If one truly supports property rights, then rejecting eminent domain is a no brainer. There is no moral reason to force individuals to trade on terms that they do not voluntarily choose and agree to.
It is bad enough that Progressives Regressives are in open war against property rights. It is infinitely worse when the alleged defenders of the right to property are negating the principle.