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"...right to property is the right to take the action needed to create and/or earn the material means needed for living. Once you have earned it, then that particular property is yours—which means: you have the right to control the use and disposal of that property."

I'm not so sure I agree with that definition. I would prefer "that dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in exclusion of every other individual." My major objection involves the phrase "needed for living," I can have property that I don't really need for living. And my comments apply to personal property, not real property.

Aren't civil rights an extension of property rights, in that the government is an entity in which we all have joint ownership, and thus property rights to...

Depending on who "we" is and the form of government that has been established, we don't all have joint ownership of government. In the case of the US, non-citizens do not participate in joint ownership of government, but they do have civil rights in regard to trial by jury, due process and so forth. But not in regard to voting in national elections.

"Depending on who "we" is and the form of government that has been established, we don't all have joint ownership of government. In the case of the US, non-citizens do not participate in joint ownership of government, but they do have civil rights in regard to trial by jury, due process and so forth."

Using the extension of the author's reasoning, isn't that a privilege, bestowed upon foreigners by our good graces and our desire to get revenue from tourism and foreign investment, rather than a right?

I realize that I am in grave risk of delving into symantecs. But, I think that the philosophy surrounding rights - of any kind - is fascinating, and I like to get input from anyone who is willing to give it, on every facet of the topic.