Blackstone’s absolutist view of private property shaped American law from its founding
Evidence
“So great … is the regard of the law for private property,” the English legal scholar William Blackstone wrote in the 18th century, “that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community.” In fact, the common law never was so one-sided. Yet Blackstone memorably expressed a view that shaped the American legal system from the start. To the founders of the nation, the ability to own land was a safeguard against oppression, a source of social order, and a stimulus to enterprise. Accordingly, the Constitution sought in many ways to protect the freedom of property owners. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 940
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Ecological awareness made traditional property boundaries legally untenable — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 946; Widespread private land ownership shaped all American law — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 290; Private property under capitalism was constructed by state institutions, not spontaneously — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 69 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Locke grounded legitimate rule in individual property rights, separating state from market
#corroborates(0.80) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 278 - Treating liberty as alienable property historically legitimated slavery and absolutism
#complicates(0.75) - Widespread private land ownership shaped all American law
#expands(0.72) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 290 - Private property under capitalism was constructed by state institutions, not spontaneously
#complicates(0.70) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 69