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From: ward@hao.UUCP (Mike Ward)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Re: What is a libertarian?
Message-ID: <1133@hao.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 31-Aug-84 09:16:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: hao.1133
Posted: Fri Aug 31 09:16:06 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 3-Sep-84 09:01:45 EDT
References: <1738@inmet.UUCP>
Organization: High Altitude Obs./NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 33

[]
Thanks, Nat.  And May I publicly apologize for being more peevish
than a person really should be.  (Gotta keep those peeves from breeding
like that)

Having determined that Libertarians feel that an increase in
liberty for the general populace is a necessary goal of their
philosophy (I hope I have not misstated this), I would like to
discuss the concept of property rights in this context.

It is my growing feeling that the term "property rights" is too
simple a term, since it includes many different concepts.  The
notion that ownership of one's body and self is a "property right"
strikes me as a strange use of the language.

Ownership of one's body is an essential foundation to personal
freedom, and to the extent that this is ignored in our society
(the draft, laws against drug use, etc) our society is deficient
in personal freedom.

Ownership of land is another issue.  Land is not a person, nor
was it created by a person.  Every inch of land in the world
was just found lying around by somebody who decided
to use it for his own benefit.  Much of the land in the world
was taken over by use of brute force.  The basis for "ownership"
seems to be tenuous.

-- 
Michael Ward, NCAR/SCD
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