Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Very Good Sentences On Secure Property Rights

KipEsquire conveys the importance of private property rights in lieu of regulations in a very fine way:
If I go out and murder someone, does that suggest that the penal code “failed” or that the police “failed”? If I go out and rob a bank, does that mean that the Federal Reserve “failed” or that the FDIC “failed”? Of course not.

All the government can do is establish consequences for malfeasance, then make sure I know the consequences of that malfeasance. If I accept those consequences and commit the crime anyway, then what more is the state supposed to do exactly, except assign a prosecutor and impanel a jury?

It cannot possibly be the responsibility of regulatory bureaucracies such as the SEC to prevent criminal conduct a priori. The government can only provide the framework to help people avoid being victims, and to punish malefactors afterwards.
The entire post is worth the read.

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