The Declaration of Independence and the Mystery of Equality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Natural Rights ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Declaration Of Independence ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Race And Religion ◽  
Individual Property Rights

What were the meanings of “all men are created equal” for the signers of the Declaration, and how was the phrase understood in different states? The chapter traces the natural rights origins of the Declaration and how the idea of natural equality affected ideas and policy on slavery, race, and religion, especially in Massachusetts and Virginia. Public figures everywhere recognized a conflict between their deep commitment to individual property rights and their assertion of equal human rights. Concern for social stability in a time of revolution influenced ideology and practice.

Slavery

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (03) ◽  
pp. 491-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin L. Einhorn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Public Power ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Man ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Individual Property Rights

The history of slavery cannot be separated from the history of business in the United States, especially in the context of the relationship between public power and individual property rights. This essay suggests that the American devotion to “sacred” property rights stemsmore from the vulnerability of slaveholding elites than to a political heritage of protection for the “common man.”

Modest Property Rights for the Right-Holder’s Sake

2019 ◽  
pp. 210-230
Author(s):  
Rowan Cruft
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Natural Rights ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
The Right

Chapter 12 assesses arguments that certain specific property rights, and some general rights to participate in property systems, can be morally justifiable for the right-holder’s own sake—primarily on the basis of the right-holder’s own good—in a way that makes them ‘natural’ or recognition-independent rights. Versions of such arguments based on the importance of the right-holder’s freedom, her chosen purposes, and her other human rights, are developed from the work of Hegel, Locke, and Nickel, respectively. The chapter shows that the reach of these arguments is limited. Some property rights might indeed be ‘natural’ rights groundable for the right-holder’s sake, but the chapter’s arguments imply that most property held by those who are moderately wealthy cannot be—including any property rights morally justifiable only as the results of a market exchange.

HENRY GEORGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THORSTEIN VEBLEN’S THEORY OF CAPITAL

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
NEIL B. NIMAN
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Land Rent ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Thorstein Veblen ◽  
Henry George ◽  
Community Assets ◽  
Single Tax ◽  
The Common ◽  
Individual Property Rights

Henry George, self-taught economist to the common man, developed a strong following outside the halls of academic discourse for his ideas about land, rent, and the single tax. Since he drew the ire of important economists such as John Bates Clark and Alfred Marshall, it should come as no surprise that few professional economists were willing to acknowledge his influence on the economics of the day. Yet, a closer look reveals that at least in the case of Thorstein Veblen, a clear connection can be made between these two important American thinkers. The concept of an unearned increment establishes their shared connection by illustrating the tension that exists between individuals and communities when individual property rights are assigned to community assets.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document