Question: Private property rights are considered one of the basis of modern societies - the State needs to have a strong case to tamper with properties of free individuals. Why is it so? Shouldn't all property be evenly distributed and in common hands rather than tied to the individual? Wouldn't that ensure a more fair and prosperous society?
Answer: The case of private property does not seem to be a simple one, although few question its legitimacy anymore. Some say private property rights exists because individuals have a right to live. Others say that since property is created by labor of individuals and with the use of the individual's time and energy and thoughts, the right to private property equals the right to be free and not owned by anyone. There has even been said that private property rights are natural to the human being, and should therefore be respected.
The opposite view is that no-one should be able to claim something for its own since humans live in societies with other humans and should therefore accept their role as masks in a net rather than individuals in a community. The socialist questions private property rights for weak reasons and for the purpose of being able to redistribute wealth according to his whims and whishes.
But whatever the philosophical justification for private property rights the reality is that societies which don't respect the right of the individual to own something for himself remain poor and underdeveloped while others prosper.
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