Property ownership is based on violence: Who said it?

No googling!

"All ownership derives from occupation and violence. [...] That all rights derive from violence, all ownership from appropriation or robbery, we may freely admit..."

Comments

  1. I'm going to guess Ludwig von Mises. (I didn't Google; promise.)

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  2. Although I must admit, I vaguely recall Kevin Carson citing this quote (or something like it) to make a point several years ago.

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  3. And didn't the author build on that premise to provide a utilitarian basis for minarchism ?

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  4. The thing about this is that there is nothing wrong with admitting it. If libertarians were to admit this, it wouldn't take away from their case at all, only their more idiotic declarations of pacifism.

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    Replies
    1. Oh Samson, you have really misjudged them here. The whole allure of the homesteading fable is that then they can claim to be pure and demonstrably right, from first principles. Their argument against intervention is also based on the notion the free markets are "justice preserving". But that means little if the initial condition is unjust. If you want a simple minded mantra you can throw at opponents then you cannot allow problems like that in.

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