Nary an Original Thought

There are exactly two ways that wealth is acquired, and only one of them is morally justifiable.

But before we get to that, let’s define what wealth is. Strictly speaking, wealth is the value of the assets and resources an individual owns and has use of, including their own body, their labor, and their property.

Wealth can be created, destroyed, or transferred from one party to another. Imagine, for example, a field that has been plowed, fertilized, and planted with wheat. In a few months’ time a crop of wheat will exist that didn’t before. Now imagine that a week before harvest that same field is consumed by fire. That wheat can no longer be consumed or turned into other goods.

Production and Voluntary Exchange

As hinted at, one way wealth can be acquired is through production. A person can apply their labor (physical, mental, or otherwise) to create goods and services that did not previously exist, which then belong to them. … Read More

Here there are two alternatives: either we may lay down a rule that each man should be permitted (i.e., have the right to) the full ownership of his own body, or we may rule that he may not have such complete ownership. If he does, then we have the libertarian natural law for a free society as treated above. But if he does not, if each man is not entitled to full and 100 percent self-ownership, then what does this imply? It implies either one of two conditions: (1) the “communist” one of Universal and Equal Other-ownership, or (2) Partial Ownership of One Group by Another—a system of rule by one class over another. These are the only logical alternatives to a state of 100 percent self-ownership for all.

Murray Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty

Bottom line, any policy, philosophy, or action that does not fully recognize an individual’s right to self-ownership is a form of slavery and violence. … Read More