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WEEK OF OCTOBER 26, 2025
** This Week on Property and Data Rights
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** John Locke on Commercial Society ([link removed])
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This Liberty Matters series explores how enduring ideas of liberty evolve in response to new social and economic realities. Just as Locke examined how ownership of land and labor shaped early modern freedom, today we ask how ownership of information, innovation, and virtual assets shapes freedom now. By connecting classical ideas about property with contemporary debates over data, technology, and privacy, this series invites reflection on what it means to secure rights and responsibilities in a world where the meaning of “property” continues to expand.
Read Now ([link removed])
** How do evolving forms of property—from land to data—reshape the balance between individual rights and the common good, and what role should law and ethics play in defining ownership today?
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** “Ultimately, property rights and personal rights are the same thing. The one cannot be preserved if the other be violated.” — Calvin Coolidge, Have Faith in Massachusetts: Massachusetts Senate President Acceptance Speech
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From the philosophical foundations of ownership to modern debates over regulation and digital assets, the idea of property remains central to questions of liberty and justice. The history of property rights reflects both the stability that secure ownership provides and the challenges that arise as new technologies and social norms confront established boundaries. This week’s selections invite reflection on how enduring principles of property can guide thoughtful responses to the evolving landscape of rights and responsibility in the 21st century.
** Articles
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** Property Rights Matter: Lessons from a Failing City ([link removed])
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Stephen J.K. Walters, Law & Liberty ([link removed])
Baltimore’s struggles remind us that prosperity depends not only on economic resources but also on the trust and stability that come from secure rights and fair governance. When citizens and institutions alike can rely on clear, consistent rules, the foundations for renewal and genuine civic pride are laid.
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** Big Brother Is Watching You ([link removed])
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Rachel Ferguson, EconLib ([link removed])
Brayne’s Predict and Surveil reminds us
work reminds us that every technological advance brings both new powers and new responsibilities, especially where the state’s authority touches the private lives of citizens. The challenge for a free society is not to halt innovation, but to ensure that its tools serve justice without eroding the privacy and dignity that sustain the rule of law.
** Smith and Locke on Property ([link removed])
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Aeon J. Skoble, Adam Smith Works ([link removed])
In Locke and Smith alike, the protection of property is not merely an economic concern but a moral affirmation of human equality and agency. Both remind us that a just society begins where persons are secure in the fruits of their labor and in the freedom to exchange them in peace.
** Of Property Rights, Civil Society, and Shampoo ([link removed])
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Anthony Gill, EconLib ([link removed])
Property rights are shaped not only by laws and regulations but also by the shared norms and expectations that guide everyday behavior. Examples from ordinary life show how social understanding and mutual respect often determine how ownership is recognized and maintained in practice.
** Privacy and the Good Life ([link removed])
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Paul Dicken, Law & Liberty ([link removed])
Lowry Pressly’s The Right to Oblivion traces how modern anxieties about privacy—from the age of the Kodak to the digital era—reflect not only fears of exposure but also a deeper loss of personal agency and self-determination. He argues that true privacy is less about hiding information than about preserving the human capacity for ambiguity, reflection, and freedom from constant surveillance.
** Podcasts
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** Randy Barnett on Liberty under Law ([link removed])
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The Future of Liberty ([link removed])
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** Richard Epstein on Property Rights, Zoning and Kelo ([link removed])
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EconTalk ([link removed])
** Videos
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** A Conversation with Armen Alchian ([link removed])
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EconTalk ([link removed])
This discussion explores how property rights underpin much of economic and legal thought, linking ownership to freedom, production, and the structure of markets. It emphasizes that clearly defined and transferable property rights not only determine how resources are used and exchanged, but they also form the foundation for exercising broader human and political rights.
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