Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America [Hardcover]

Timothy Sandefur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2006 | ISBN-10: 193086597X | ISBN-13: 978-1930865976

The right to own and use private property is among the most essential human rights and the essential basis for economic growth. That's why America's Founders guaranteed it in the Constitution. Yet in today's America, government tramples on this right in countless ways. Regulations forbid people to use their property as they wish, bureaucrats extort enormous fees from developers in exchange for building permits, and police departments snatch personal belongings on the suspicion that they were involved in crimes. In the case of Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court even declared that government may seize homes and businesses and transfer the land to private developers to build stores, restaurants, or hotels. That decision was met with a firestorm of criticism across the nation. In this, the first book on property rights to be published since the Kelo decision, Timothy Sandefur surveys the landscape of private property in America's third century. Beginning with the role property rights play in human nature, Sandefur describes how America's Founders wrote a Constitution that would protect this right and details the gradual erosion that began with the Progressive Era's abandonment of the principles of individual liberty. Sandefur tells the gripping stories of people who have found their property threatened: Frank Bugryn and his Connecticut Christmas-tree farm; Susette Kelo and the little dream house she renovated; Wilhelmina Dery and the house she was born in, 80 years before bureaucrats decided to take it; Dorothy English and the land she wanted to leave to her children; and Kenneth Healing and his 17-year legal battle for permission to build a home. Thanks to the abuse of eminent domain and asset forfeiture laws, federal, state, and local governments have now come to see property rights as mere permissions, which can be revoked at any time in the name of the greater good. In this book, Sandefur explains what citizens can do to restore the Constitution's protections for this cornerstone of liberty.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner...." --Justice Sandra Day O'Connor --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From the Back Cover

"Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner. . . . Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory. . . . The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result."
—Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, dissenting in the Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London

"This timely and compelling book will greatly interest anyone seeking a better understanding of the state of property rights in America today. Concerned citizens and activists will find resources and inspiration in each chapter."
—Chip Mellor, President, Institute for Justice

"Timothy Sandefur demonstrates why private property rights are central to a stable society and economic freedom, and what steps we can take to protect those rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's Kelo decision."
—Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)

"For many lawyers and economists, private property is an abstract institution justified for its long-term social advantages. But for Tim Sandefur, property lies at the heart of every individual’s personal identity and self-worth. Read his harrowing accounts of what happens when property rights are trampled here at home, and you see that the human dimension of property rights cannot be neglected in an ongoing debate that shapes the future well-being of our nation."
—Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School

"In this timely volume Timothy Sandefur convincingly documents the importance of property rights to a free society, as well as the intellectual and political assaults on the rights of property owners starting in the Progressive Era. Sandefur offers constructive suggestions for legal changes that would enhance the rights of owners and restore the vision of the Framers that linked property with individual liberty. This book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on economic rights."
—James W. Ely Jr., Vanderbilt University Law School

"Reading Tim Sandefur’s excellent new book helps highlight how the Kelo decision betrays, and arms those who continue to oppose, America’s efforts to erase racially imposed economic disparities within our society."
– Dennis Hayes, General Counsel, NAACP, Baltimore, Maryland --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 132 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (August 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193086597X
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865976
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Timothy Sandefur is a Principal Attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. As the lead attorney in the Economic Liberty Project, he works to protect businesses against abusive government regulation. He also works to prevent the abuse of eminent domain, having litigated important eminent domain cases in California, Missouri, and elsewhere, and having filed briefs in many significant eminent domain cases, including Kelo v. New London. He is the author of two books, Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America, published by the Cato Institute in 2006, and The Right to Earn A Living: Economic Freedom And The Law, which will be published in 2010. He has also authored some 30 scholarly articles on subjects ranging from eminent domain and economic liberty to copyright, evolution and creationism, and the legal issues of slavery and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Chapman University School of Law and Hillsdale College. He is an Adjunct Scholar with the Cato Institute, and his articles have appeared in Liberty, National Review Online, The Humanist, The San Francisco Chronicle, Regulation, and The Washington Times among other places. In February, 2006, he became one of the youngest attorneys ever featured on the cover of California Lawyer magazine. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, The Armstrong and Getty Show, NPR's This American Life, CNBC's Street Signs, Now with David Brancaccio and CPSAN's Book TV.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars College-level collections will find this essential., December 13, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America (Paperback)

Few books offer so succinct or specific a set of insights connecting property rights to democratic principles as in Property Rights in 21st Century America, a survey of property rights as linked to issues of freedom and personal identity. Here are ideas for legal changes to the existing system which would enhance owner rights and individual liberties: here also are historical and political as well as social considerations of property rights issues as they relate to the constitution and society. College-level collections will find this essential.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in the past year, February 25, 2009

By 

B. Orzechowski - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America (Hardcover)

Every now and again, I am exceptionally pleased with a book purchase. Such is the case with Property Rights. Sandefur clearly and concisely discusses the diminution of property rights in America. Surprisingly, I gleaned as much information from this book's 161 pages (including index and footnotes), as I usually do in much lengthier books. Property Rights will be included with my must-read recommendations.

5.0 out of 5 stars A U.S. citizen's must read, March 22, 2011

By 

Vincent Bronzino "Vinny" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America (Paperback)

Sandefur covers it ALL, hits the nail on the head, and cites almost every relevant influential person to ever live, making it a great resource to have. Additionally, this dense boost of an education will teach you everything you should learn, if you have not already, before even whispering your opinion in any governmental, policy or legal discussion. I HIGHLY recommend this book. I'll be getting copies for friends and family who could use some enlightenment in 126 easy-to-read pages. I won't be getting copies, however, for those who are lost causes, like my Con Law professor, who decided to skip KELO completely! Ridiculous.