Whatever Happened to the Ownership Society? (Imprimis)

Before Hurricane Katrina flooded the tear ducts of our politicians and the vaults of our treasury, President Bush had us talking about America’s “ownership society.” This is one of the best things he has done. He did it prominently in his reelection campaign. He did it bravely in relation to Social Security, which risks the outrage of the media and the votes of older people who always vote. If he did it in some ways foolishly, never mind. It showed promise because it had us talking about something central for a change. This question of ownership is at the heart of America. It always has been.

“No taxation without representation” echoed in the hearts and spirits of our fathers because it called up the ideas they held most dear. If you may not tax me except as my representative, then for the same reason you may not govern me except by my consent. If you cannot take my property except by law and with difficulty, then my title to my property is real. It is truly mine. I own it. And if James Madison is to be believed, my ownership of my property stands on just the same footing as my entitlement to speak my mind or to say my prayers or to vote my conscience.

It is therefore no accident that the Virginia Declaration of Rights, when it lists our inherent rights, mentions the “means of acquiring and possessing property” alongside life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and safety. This document was adopted on June 12, 1776, less than a month before the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson turned to it in the writing of the Declaration. Several people voted for ratification of both documents.

"LARRY P. ARNN is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College. He received his B.A. from Arkansas State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School. He also studied history at the London School of Economics and at Worcester College, Oxford University. From 1985-2000, he served as president of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy. In 1995, he was the founding chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposition 209, a voter-approved initiative which prohibited racial preferences in state hiring, contracting and admissions. He is on the board of directors of the Heritage Foundation, the Henry Salvatori Center of Claremont McKenna College, Americans Against Discrimination and Preferences, the Center for Individual Rights and the Claremont Institute. Published widely in national newspapers, magazines and periodicals on issues of public policy, history and political theory, Dr. Arnn is the author most recently of Liberty and Learning: The Evolution of American Education, published in 2004 by Hillsdale College Press."

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