I’m currently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The plethora of wisdom in this book has sparked my interest. In particular, the importance of individual rights.

In the fictional context of Atlas Shrugged, the government takes action very similar to the modern day U.S. government. One similarity is the constant encroachment on the right of its citizens to private property.

“The public has a vital stake in natural resources. The public can’t remain indifferent to reckless, selfish waste by an anti-social individual. After all, private property is a trusteeship held for the benefit of society as a whole.” – Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, page 50.

The fictional government, in Atlas Shrugged, represents a very socialistic viewpoint. One that at it’s core believes that property cannot be used to the purpose determined by the individual but is meant to benefit society as a whole. Is this view wrong and if so what is the government’s role in regard to your private property?

The core principle of a free society, where man has the freedom to live, flourish and fail is supported primarily by the principle of individual rights.

The first step in upholding individual rights is to support the right to life, the source of all rights. The government does not grant rights, for it is not the source. Instead, the governments’ involvement with individual rights is limited to protecting them. They do most notably, by defending against foreign attacks.

Quickly following the right to life is the right to private property. This is the golden key to sustaining man’s life by his own effort.

By one’s own efforts is immensely important. For it is the action that is the key to the reward. The right to property is a right to action, like all other rights: it is not the right to an object but to the action and the consequences of producing or earning that object. It is not a guarantee that a man will earn any property, but only a guarantee that he will own it if he earns it. It is the right to gain, to keep, and to use how you see fit.

The right to the product of your own efforts is the pillar to private property. If you labor at something and then you don’t have ownership you are reduced to a slave. Therefore when government intervenes to regulate represents pure disregard for the most basic human right.

It was the concept of individual rights that had given birth to a free society. It was with the destruction of individual rights that the destruction of freedom begins. Private property is such an important philosophy to be able to explain because it is the most constant under attack.