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Property Rights

My New Liberalism.Org Article on the Centrality of Private Property Rights to Liberalism

It argues that strengthening protection for property rights is essential to liberty, and to benefiting the poor and disadvantaged.

Ilya Somin | 9.2.2026 2:51 PM

Today, the Institute for Humane Studies Liberalism.Org website published my article on why private property rights deserve a central place in the liberal political tradition. It explains how property rights are essential to liberty, and why strengthening protection for them particularly benefits the poor and disadvantaged. Here is an excerpt:

Property rights were central to the origins of the liberal political tradition. And, in our time especially, they should be central once again. In addition to their inherent value as a vital element of liberty and autonomy, bolstering them is essential to uplifting the poor and disadvantaged and boosting prosperity and innovation. The right to private property can also help protect a variety of other important rights.

Property rights were a central focus of the early liberal tradition. John Locke famously wrote that the purpose of government was the protection........

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