Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: blight designation, eminent domain abuse, public use clause, New York, Penn Central, New Deal (more...)

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 Cassette edition.

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (October 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930865961
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865969
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #981,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 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

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

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 (REAL NAME)

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.