Most Americans tend to think of private property simply as a home – a place where families live, store their belongings, and find shelter and security from the elements. it's where you live. You paid the mortgage and taxes, so it's yours. Most people don't think much more about real estate ownership.
There was a time when real estate ownership was much more important. Property, and the ability to own and control it, was life itself.
John Adams said:
Anarchy and tyranny begin the moment society accepts the idea that property is less sacred than God's law, and that there are no laws or forces of public justice to protect it.
The great economist John Locke, whose writings and ideas greatly influenced the Founding Fathers, believed that “life and liberty are secure only insofar as property rights are secure.”
Locke warned that human civilization would be reduced to the level of a pack of wolves and cease to exist because the inability to control one's own actions would cause fear and anxiety. Locke argued that private property ownership brings stability and wealth to individuals and leads to the prosperity of human society. That's because legal ownership of property is the key to productive development.
Private property ownership is why the United States became the richest country on Earth almost overnight. Free individuals who use their land to generate commerce and build personal wealth through property equity are the root of America's success. Sixty percent of early American business was financed through real estate ownership. And 60 percent of America's jobs were created by those successful businesses. That's how a free market economy is built. Owning private property is a source of personal wealth for the average American.
John Locke argued that if property rights did not exist, the incentive for hardworking people to develop and improve their property would be destroyed. Hardworking people being deprived of the fruits of their labor. Looting gangs will forcefully confiscate goods produced by others. And since accumulating valuable things invites attacks, humans will be forced to live on the edge of hand-to-mouth living.
To clearly understand what happens to a society when an outlaw government uses violence to control private property, we need to look to the example of the former Soviet Union. Under that tyranny, each of Locke's prophecies came true. Throughout its history, the Soviet government has tolerated all actions under the banner of equality for all. There were no property rights, no freedom of enterprise, and no protection for individual action. Instead, the Soviet government imposed a wealth redistribution program and confiscated housing from the wealthy and middle class. The shelves were empty, freedom of choice was non-existent, and personal misery ruled the day.
The same basic redistribution program as the Soviet Union was later used by Zimbabwe's former dictator Robert Mugabe to destroy the agriculturally rich African country. Mugabe confiscated farmland owned by white farmers and gave it to his friends in the corrupt government. Most of them had never even seen a farm. The result was economic disaster, widespread poverty, and starvation in the lands that once fed the continent. The country of South Africa is now following in the brutal footsteps of Robert Mugabe, attacking white farmers, taking their property, and putting it back into the hands of people who know nothing about farming.
Apparently, John Locke's warning was correct. Private property ownership extends far beyond a home. It is the root of a prosperous and healthy human society, based on the freedom of individuals to profit from the fruits of their own labor and live their own lives. If you take away that choice, people will always react the same way. they stop production.
The Lost Definition of Private Property Rights
The 1990s saw an all-out assault on property rights led by the radical environmental movement, resulting in large-scale land grabs by the federal government in the name of conservation. As you might imagine, courts across the country were flooded with lawsuits from people trying to protect their property rights from government expropriation.
In Washington state, one of the primary targets of such programs, the state Supreme Court found that there was no adequate definition of property rights to use when considering such cases. It was at this time that State Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders wrote the Fifth Amendment Convention, which included the following definition of property rights:
Ownership of a thing consists not only of its ownership and possession, but also of the right to its unrestricted use, enjoyment, and disposal. Anything that destroys any of the elements of property destroys the property itself insofar. The real value of property lies in its use. If the right of use is denied, the value of the asset disappears and ownership becomes a barren right.
The key is to utilize the land. Land value is created by using the land in a productive way that is beneficial to the owner. Justice Saunders said that while unspecified government agencies can govern and regulate how a property is used, paying taxes and mortgages are “sterile rights” that eliminate its value.
When purchasing real estate, what percentage of the land do you own? How deep is the soil? Are you the owner of the water on the land? Do you own the air above it? Property rights expert Dr. Timothy Ball writes: “All these questions speak to personal, regional and transnational political issues. Nationally and internationally, this lack of knowledge is being exploited by those seeking control.… ”
How can I fight back?
For decades, the radical left has focused on organizing at all levels of government, while proponents of limited government have focused on the “dirty” local organizations and activities necessary to protect our freedoms. I've been neglecting my work. We gave the left a pretty clear playing field to organize and take control, and now we are suffering the consequences.
No position is too small for a committed leftist. Appointed boards are ignored. When was the last time local Conservative activists were interested in a job like city attorney? But these are the very officials who enforced the COVID-19 lockdown policies. Local governments are now infested with policy-setting planners, NGOs, and federal agencies. And the only reason they have power and influence now is because the left fought to elect representatives and gave it to them.
Too many elected officials today, even honest ones, fail to understand the roots and goals of the “sustainable” policies they are implementing. Because they are ignorant, they respond to their critics by saying, “Well, that's the way it is.” When they relinquish their right to vote to an appointed board, they should ask themselves, “Who are they actually representing? The voters or the NGO and the appointed board?” Do you even think about it?
The threat of anthropogenic climate change is central to the Deep State's power grab. It is an unrelenting strategy of fear that claims that the Earth will become uninhabitable within 10 years unless vast government powers control every human action. Power for the nation!
However, there is sufficient scientific evidence to show that such claims regarding human impact on the environment are essentially non-existent. But many leaders of the freedom movement mistakenly assume that to counter misinformation from those concerned about climate change, they simply need to write academic papers disproving it and setting the record straight. There is. It doesn't work because very few people understand it. Even fewer people will read it. In short, we grossly overestimate the knowledge, intelligence, and attention span of the average citizen or government official we are trying to persuade. Emotions rather than facts tend to decide the discussion.
The first step in fighting back is to stop relying on one person, one symbol, one president to move us forward. We must take responsibility to ensure that the government does not proceed unchecked. We need to be directly involved at all levels, especially at the local level.
Let's shift the discussion to attacking anti-freedom policies and exposing the non-governmental (NGO) carpetbackers hiding in the shadows who are swaying policy. We can change the conversation by making private property protection key to local battles. If private property is protected, sustainable policies cannot be forced. Urge your local elected officials to help protect private property. If they refuse, expose them. Force elected officials to take personal responsibility for their actions.
How much different would our country be if we committed to electing a majority of our nation's governors to understand and operate in accordance with the Tenth Amendment, which gave the states the power to resist federal overreach? Just imagine. What if you had a county commission that refused to participate in unelected local government? Your city council could protect private property, encourage and support local businesses, or pass rules and regulations that stifle individual choice. How would your life be different if your community was made up of individuals who guided their communities around the three pillars of freedom, including the removal of regulations? What about your personal life? How can all this be achieved?
Set a goal to transform your local community into a Freedom Pod. Just focus on making these goals a reality in your community, and if you succeed, as prosperity spreads, your ideas will surely spread to neighboring communities, and then the next. The challenge is to create a successful blueprint and a cadre of committed elected officials to begin the transition from local to state-level government.
It sets the stage for a federal government like the one our ancestors envisioned. The result will be the growth of Freedom Pods across the country. This is the end game of the power of freedom. No matter who is president, we must take control of our cities, counties, state legislatures, and governors. Only then can we stand up to potential tyranny from Washington, DC. To live your life the way you choose, start with your community. Build a Freedom Pod. Act local and stop globalization!
How do you do that? The American Policy Center (APC) is currently working with organizations across the country to train and motivate local residents to take action in their own communities to push back and restore American freedom. APC has created a Local Activist Handbook and Tool Kit with all the details you need to begin organizing, training, and improving communications between activists and organizations, sharing tactics, ideas, and successes. For more information, please visit www.americanpolicy.org.
Tom DeWeese is one of the nation's leading advocates for individual liberty, free enterprise, private property rights, personal privacy, back-to-basics education, and American sovereignty and independence. He is founder and president of the American Policy Center and editor of the DeWeese Report.
