The Philosophy of Ownership

Robert LeFevre

The significance of property ownership has rarely been fully appreciated, writes Robert LeFevre.

He proceeds to present the entire libertarian case for private ownership, with his characteristic clarity of exposition. He makes what is a radically hard-core case for the absolute integrity of self ownership and property ownership but in a way that comes across as common-sense. He shows that how a society thinks about the issue of ownership is not just a matter of details; our very survival depends on it.

Here is an excellent overview of a topic that Mises said was the foundational idea of liberalism itself. But it's more than an overview: it is a strong case for iron-clad, impenetrable, and no-exceptions social rules on ownership.

The Philosophy of Ownership by Robert LeFevre
Meet the Author
Robert LeFevre

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) ran the Freedom School and Rampart College, founded in 1957. He had a legendary impact on a whole generation of libertarians. LeFevre's complete audio archives is available in Mises Media.

Mises Daily Robert LeFevre
Currently in the United States, although we praise private ownership of the land as the bulwark of our system of land ownership, the taxes levied actually perpetuate a kind of collectivity in ownership.
Mises Daily Robert LeFevre
By no process of the mind can the owner of the slave cause the slave to flex a single muscle. The only process open to the slave owner is to impose force or the threat of force.
View Robert LeFevre bio and works
References

Rampart College Press, 1966.