Property and power

In Aesop’s fable, “The Wolf and the Lion” a wolf steals a lamb and carries it toward his lair. Along the way he encounters a lion, who takes the lamb without explanation. Once safely out of reach the wolf protests: “You have no right to take my property like that!” The lion replies, “Your property? Did you buy it, or did the shepherd make you a gift of it? Pray tell me, how did you get it?” The fable’s moral is concise and enduring: “What is evil won is evil lost.” The lesson applies not only to physical possessions but also to intellectual property and the broader principle of rightful ownership. Property obtained through deceit, coercion, or theft is never securely possessed. The person who acquires something wrongfully must conceal it, defend it, and live with the fear that it will be discovered or taken away. What was intended as a gain becomes a source of anxiety, obsession, and moral corrosion. In that sense, ill-gotten property carries within it the seeds of its own loss. This principle bears directly on contemporary political debates of today. When public officials or candidates propose using governmental power to confiscate, heavily tax, or otherwise redistribute property beyond legitimate constitutional limits, they risk treating the fruits of another person’s labor as political spoils. Government possesses immense coercive authority; it can regulate, tax, fine, and enforce its commands through the legal system. That authority must therefore be restrained by a clear commitment to individual rights, due process, and the rule of law. Without such restraints, the power to govern can deteriorate into tyranny. James Madison understood property in far broader terms than land, money, or material goods. In his essay On Property, he wrote that “as a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.” For Madison, property included not only the fruits of one’s labor but also one’s opinions, the free communication of those opinions, religious exercise, personal security, and liberty. He regarded conscience as “the most sacred of all property.” This understanding is essential to a free society. Liberty depends not merely on the ability to own a home, a business, or the proceeds of one’s work; it also depends on the right to think independently, speak openly, worship freely, and live without arbitrary interference. A government established to secure rights must protect both material property and personal liberties that allow individuals to develop their talents, pursue their vocations, and participate fully in civic life. The Constitution reflects this commitment. Article I, Section 8, authorizes Congress to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing, for limited times, authors’ and inventors’ exclusive rights to their writings and discoveries. This provision recognizes intellectual property as an extension of human creativity and labor. Likewise, the Fifth Amendment provides that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. The Fourteenth Amendment further extends constitutional protection against arbitrary state action by providing that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Together, these provisions reflect the Founders’ conviction that civil society exists not to subordinate the individual to the whims of rulers, factions, or bureaucracies, but to secure the rights individuals possess by nature. John Adams expressed the principle plainly: “Property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist.” The protection of property is therefore not a narrow economic concern; it is a safeguard against political domination. A person who cannot securely retain the fruits of his labor, ideas, or lawful possessions is not fully free. Ayn Rand similarly warned against “the desire for the unearned.” Her argument was fundamentally moral; human flourishing depends upon recognizing the relationship between effort, creation, responsibility, and reward. When a culture treats achievement as something to be seized rather than earned, it encourages envy and weakens the virtues of productivity, trust, and personal responsibility. For these reasons, proposals that diminish private-property rights, weaken law enforcement, or disregard national sovereignty deserve rigorous scrutiny. A just society must resist policies rooted in resentment or class antagonism and instead preserve the conditions that make ordered liberty possible: secure rights, equal justice under law, personal responsibility, and respect for the dignity of work. Capitalism offers individuals the opportunity to create, exchange, innovate, and prosper through voluntary cooperation. It is not a perfect system because human beings are not perfect. Yet it remains the system most consistent with individual liberty, private property, and the possibility of broad human flourishing. The alternative political systems that subordinate rights to ideological redistribution have too often produced scarcity, coercion, and the concentration of power in the hands of those who claim to act for the common good. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/property-and-power/

Sharing Common Ground: Observations at a Park

The American author, speaker and leadership expert, John Maxwell, said the following about communication. “If I had to pick the first rule of communication, the one practice above all others that opens the door to connecting with others, it would be to look for common ground. Too often people see communication as the process of transmitting massive amounts of information to other people. But that’s the wrong picture. Communication is a journey. The more that people have in common, the better the chance that they can take that journey together.” What does that have to do with an afternoon in a park? Quite a lot, as I discovered one Saturday while on a business trip in the Atlanta metropolitan area. I had some free time, so I grabbed a book and headed into the old town of Norcross, Georgia and wandered into Lillian Webb Park. The sign at the entrance described Ms. Webb’s civic engagement and her commitment to the local, state, and national groups in which she had participated. Because of her civic endeavors the City of Norcross created a delightful space for the local community and visitors to enjoy. As you enter the park you are greeted by a stone-based pool with a traditional three-tier tower fountain cast in a glossy black. The bubbling apex of water flows down into a top basin, then into the middle basin, and finally cascades down into the pool. The movement of the water was mesmerizing and the sound it made was calming. I found one of the eight metal benches placed around the fountain and shaded by trees and there I staked my claim to a comfortable repose. Birds chirped their joyful sounds and the clouds whisked by, cooling the ground below with shade. On this pleasant day the wind blew softly moving the three flags hoisted on stately poles behind the fountain that displayed their emblems and colors for all to see. The City of Norcross, the State of Georgia, and the United States of America flags all danced in unison. It was heartening to see a place where they were proudly displayed in a public setting. As I read, I noticed people of many backgrounds entering the park to take photographs in front of the fountain. One family, dressed in traditional African attire, posed proudly as a photographer captured images to share with relatives back home. Later, a limousine arrived, and a young woman stepped out in a pink Cinderella-style ball gown adorned with white lace, a silver tiara resting on her head. She was accompanied by eight young men in coordinated attire wearing pink shirts, brown vests, cowboy hats, and boots, all gathered for her quinceañera celebration. Over several hours, I watched dozens of people speaking different languages, all drawn to the same place, the same fountain at the same moment. I constantly looked up from my book to smile and say “hello” to the people walking by. Was it the beautiful day that brought them here? Was it the tranquil setting of the fountain? Was it the safety and cleanliness of the park that attracted them? Was it our shared humanity? Perhaps it was all the above. I thought how refreshing it was that there still exist places that people can share without protests, strife, or mischief and enjoy a public setting. It seems to me that people have so much more in common than the talking heads in the media will admit. People want many of the same things, we just have differences in how to acquire those things. One way I have found to bridge those differences is through stories that make a point to persuade people to consider a different way of looking at things. There is an old fable of the Wolf and the House Dog. A starving wolf met a well-fed house dog and envied his easy life. The dog said the wolf could live the same way by serving humans. As they walked, the wolf noticed a worn spot on the dog’s neck and learned it was from a chain. Realizing the dog wasn’t free, the wolf chose hunger over captivity and ran back to the woods. The lesson here is freedom is more valuable than what divides us. If we fail to find what unites us in those common things we may find ourselves in the chains of comfort. Like the wolf in the story, it is better to be hungry than to have security and be a slave. A fountain in a local park can be a place that draws people together. John Adams once wrote to his wife Abigail, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.” His warning underscores the importance of vigilance, but also of unity. Consider the following. If you want to preserve what matters most, you must actively seek common ground. You must listen as much as you speak, persuade with humility, and remain open to understanding. Not every divide can be bridged, but where opportunity exists, it is worth the effort. Often, the most fertile common ground is not found in civic institutions or public debates, but within our own minds where understanding begins. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/sharing-common-ground-observations-at-a-park/?tvci=L5NAf_s5wPIZWo8-ocQKte90wJbLZK2rhu1Syx_OO9Q!