Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Law

Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.

- Frederic Bastiat

1 comment:

Chris said...

1. Communal ownership of the land existed before private property.

2. Private property arose through the use of force, because those who didn't own property had to be excluded.

3. The laws arose from an excess of private property which trampled on the political freedom of those without private property.

4. Therefore, the laws are the result of private property and its excesses.