Essays
Why Property Rights Were Excluded from the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms by Alexander Alvaro.
more info - full essay
Private Property Rights, a speech by Marshall Copithorne to
the Western Stock Growers' Association
more info - full essay
Property Rights: The Fundament of Civilization, a speech by
David Frum, author, former speech writer to U.S. President George W.
Bush
more info - full essay
A History of the Philosophy of Property Rights, by Grant
Madsen, Defenders of Property Rights
more info - full essay
“Private Ownership: People Will Be More Industrious
and Use Resources More Wisely When Property is Privately
Owned,” by James D. Gwartney and Richard L. Stroup in What
Everyone Should Know About Economics and Prosperity
more info - full essay
Private Property Rights: A Radical Perspective, by Walter
Block, Economics Department, University of Central Arkansas
more info - full essay
Common Law Remedies to Environmental Problems by Elizabeth
Brubaker, Executive Director, Environment Probe
more info - full essay
A Philosophical History of Property Rights, by Steve Stiles,
former MLA in the Alberta provincial legislature
more info - full essay
Why Property Rights Were Excluded from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by Alexander Alvaro
Alvaro tells how the opportunity to entrench property rights in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms was lost in 1982, and again in 1991 when provincial legislatures failed to endorse a property rights amendment that had been passed in the House of Commons three years before. The provinces' resistance to a bill of rights was overcome, but resistance to entrenching property rights was not.
Private Property Rights, a speech by Marshall Copithorne to the Western Stock Growers' Association
Copithorne explains the friction between natural law and statute law and argues that all our liberty stems from the right to life and the right to property. He traces the philosophical foundation for property rights protection to the 10 Commandments, through Greek and Roman philosophy, through the Age of Enlightenment to the Magna Carta, and onward to the founding of the American state. His comments are nicely summed up by this quote from Frederic Bastiat: “In spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation and are superior to it. 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.”
Property Rights: The Fundament of Civilization, a speech by David Frum, author, former speech writer to U.S. President George W. Bush
Frum argues that the moment of the demarcation of the first piece of ground was the beginning of the ascent of civilization. Even though the power of Parliament is virtually limitless, fortunately for Canadians, governments are bound up in conventions that prevent them from exercising their full power. Still, there are disturbing violations of property rights that are cause for concern (i.e. the NEP and gun registration) and he charts out a path to rectify this oversight in law.
A History of the Philosophy of Property Rights, by Grant Madsen, Defenders of Property Rights
Madsen tells the history of property rights beginning with Jehovah's command: Thou shalt not steal. John Locke's natural rights theory placed property rights at the foundation of all other rights and the basis of government, which was influential on the founders of the U.S. Constitution. Since then Marxism, radical or pure democracy and environmentalism have been the principal philosophies that have challenged the Lockean conception of property.
“Private Ownership: People Will Be More Industrious and Use Resources More Wisely When Property is Privately Owned,” by James D. Gwartney and Richard L. Stroup in What Everyone Should Know About Economics and Prosperity
Gwartney and Stroup describe how private ownership creates prosperity. There are four major reasons why the incentive structure created by private property promotes economic progress: it encourages wise stewardship, it encouges productive property development, it encourages strong incentives to beneficially use resources for others, it promotes wise resource development and conservation for the future. “Private property is the cornerstone both of economic progress and of personal liberty.”
Private Property Rights: A Radical Perspective, by Walter Block, Economics Department, University of Central Arkansas
Block says the intellectual case for private property rights is overwhelming, consisting of moral and economic elements. He presents the case for privatizing the “unprivatizable”, namely roads, highways, streets, sidewalks, and other vehicular and pedestrian thoroughfares.
Common Law Remedies to Environmental Problems by Elizabeth Brubaker, Executive Director, Environment Probe
Brubaker describes the common law tradition that has provided individuals with powerful tools to protect the environment. She traces the erosion of our common law property rights, makes a plea for their restoration and argues that common law principles can help us establish institutions to deal with environmental problems.
A Philosophical History of Property Rights, by Steve Stiles, former MLA in the Alberta Provincial Legislature
Stiles argues that if the policies of our governments are based on a correct understanding of rights we shall enjoy peace, freedom, and prosperity, but if not, it can lead to catastrophe. Once we associate with others, the idea of rights, and how they may be protected is paramount. Stiles relies on the writings of Ayn Rand to in charting the moral basis for the protection of property, and examines reasons for their exclusion from Canada's foundational documents.