Question

While you are attending a business conference in South America, someone approaches you and says, “A private property system might work well in your country, but it will never work in mine. There are only a few wealthy families in my country who own almost everything. Our only hope for the people is for the government to confiscate their lands and administer our resources through socialism.”

What do you say to this person in light of what you have read in this chapter?

What strategy might you suggest regarding getting more private land into the hands of the poor in that country?

Answer 1

Ans 1: Essentially, you say that socialism will not be as productive as a private property system. With little to no incentive to own property, progress is stifled.

Ans 2: Taxation, purchase, and redistribution to the poor might be effective. Remember homesteading was a way of getting the land into the hands of the poor in the United States.