Property and Freedom

The right to property is fundemental to freedom. If we cannot control the results of our labor, we don't control anything. This freedom is what creates prosperity. People aren't fully alive, fully creative, fully productive, unless they are free to dispose of their income and belongings. What they create becomes the wealth of the nation because they sell and trade this production for the goods and services of others. The more they produce, the more there is to share with the rest of the world. The more we all prosper as a result.

This is why a socialist society cannot work. The lack of property rights destroys freedom. It also destroys the incentive to create and to produce. Ultimately, the society must wither and grind itself into a poverty ridden hell-hole. People do not work hard in a socialist economy, because they know that they will not be rewarded for their efforts. It has happened over and over in socialist economies the world over. How many examples have we had of this process in the last century?

Remember, when the government takes away a person's property rights. It also takes away that person's freedom.