Author: Gian Antonio Benacchio, Barbara Pasa Publisher: Central European University Press Number Of Pages: 330 Publication Date: 2006-07-01 ISBN-10 / ASIN: 9637326340 ISBN-13 / EAN: 9789637326349Links: Pdf (zip) file (1,15 MB): rapidshare.com
A Common Law for Europe
January 14, 2008 — hugelibThe Law
January 14, 2008 — hugelib
Author: Frederic Bastiat Publisher: Foundation for Economic Education Number Of Pages: 79 Publication Date: 1998-10ISBN-10 / ASIN: 1572460733ISBN-13 / EAN: 9781572460737
Is owning excessive wealth our natural right?
The critical issue of this book is whether “property is our natural right.” If it is, then most of what Bastiat said are right; otherwise, he is wrong.
In the primitive society, all goods are traded directly. If a person who is so powerful that he possesses all the properties in the world and enslaved all others, is it his “right” to possess all the properties in the world? Clearly not – because properties on earth are limited and should not be controlled by one person. In the same token, it should not be controlled by the rich people that are in the minority.
The same logic applies to civilized society that uses money to represent wealth. If property is a “natural right,” what is the mechanism to prevent African warlords to take all the wealth as their natural “properties” and starves millions of people to death?
Life and liberty are not zero sum entities, but property is. There is a limit of how much food that the earth can produce, and how much goods the society can afford. Thus even though in general property rights are protected by modern society, there must be a limit on how much one can possess. And rather than waiting for the wealth distribution to become excessively uneven (and triggers revolution), the rebalance of wealth should be done gradually. Thus the idea of accumulative tax is correct.
To those who do not believe that excessive uneven wealth distribution can trigger revolution, check the world history, in particular, the history of France, Russia, and China. While the rich claim excessive wealth as their “natural rights,” the poor claim excessive force theirs.
Links: Pdf file (342KB): mihd.net
