Celebrating Property on Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, John Stossel wrote a piece on private property, something he clearly shows we should celebrate on that holiday:

Of course, they might just answer, "Yeah, but what about ham?" (Image courtesy of Pixabay.)

Had the Pilgrims continued communal farming, this Thursday might be known as "Starvation Day" instead of Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, the Pilgrims were led not by Bernie Sanders fans or other commons-loving socialists, but by Governor Bradford, who wrote that he "began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could ... that they might not still thus languish in misery ... After much debate (I) assigned each family a parcel of land ... (T)his had very good success, because it made every hand industrious."

There's nothing like private ownership to make "every hand industrious."

While Stossel does not discuss private property as a right, he does show how miserable we would be without the concept, using his historical example and explanation of the tragedy of the commons to do so. Be sure to read the whole thing: It might come in handy should you have a relative or friend who has an interest in learning about such issues.

-- CAV