How to Defend Private Property

Every day at Columbia, I think about how best to approach convincing my classmates of the dignity of work and that  opportunity, creativity and human flourishing matter and that the free enterprise system best enshrines those things.

But, as we all know, making that case is difficult. There are ideological and cultural factors that make that message hard to hear. I offer my fellow ISI-ers a few dos and don’ts gleaned from my experience and I hope you’ll add some more!

1. Eschew the buzzwords! We’re not talking about “capitalism,” per se. That was a term coined by Karl Marx as a straw man, and it really just means a system where large amounts of wealth are concentrated for long-term investment. That could just as well be statism. I prefer to talk about “free enterprise,” or “private property.” Even the language of entrepreneurship or markets can be an immediate turn-off, given that it was such a hallmark of the 2012 GOP campaign and seemed to ignore the concerns of working people.

2. Small is beautiful. Everyone should read G.K. Chesterton’s wonderful little essay, “Sex and Property.” It’s a great reminder that what we should stand for is not the profit margins of the Goldman Sachses of the world (though there’s not necessarily anything wrong with profit margins!). What really matters is the dignity and independence of working people, who need to have security of tenure to be able to invest for the future and find meaning in their labor. Chesterton writes:

The reason our contemporary countrymen do not understand what we mean by Property is that they only think of it in the sense of Money… we mean by Property something that… begins and ends with something far more grand and worthy and creative.

Even if we don’t fully embrace Chesterton’s distributism, we should acknowledge that he’s on to a great insight here. And, of course, defending property in this sense as the safeguard of a meaningful, moral life should also involve defending marriage and unborn babies.

3. Show you care. Good arguments matter. It’s important to think things through and explain your ideas well. But for Aristotle, rational logos was only one part of convincing someone. Ethos—personal credibility—and pathos—moving the heart—matter too. So we have to respond to the accusation that we are aloof defenders of privilege not with indignation but with grace, not with hauteur but with service. Treat those who serve you on campus—dining staff, security guards, janitors—with unfailing respect. And volunteer to serve those in need in your community. Do it through your church if you can.

And, when you explain your ideas, tell stories of the ways that private property and free enterprise can give the poor new agency over their lives and a new sense of dignity.