Earth Day Update: Life, Liberty and Property
Nicolas Loris /
Before Thomas Jefferson penned in The Declaration of Independence, writing that we are endowed with “certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” it was philosopher John Locke who believed “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.”
Indeed, private property rights are critical to a nation’s economic growth and prosperity. Whether or not a country has established private property rules is a key indicator in The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. But property rights also play an extremely important role in environmental protection and improvement.
When property rights cease to exist, people do not have the proper incentives to devote their own resources to protect and improve their land. In this instance, what’s referred to as the tragedy of the commons occurs. Think about your office refrigerator versus your fridge at home. Chances are one is much cleaner while the other is cluttered and has more rotting food. No one has any incentive to clean the fridge or they expect someone else to do it for him.