Boundaries of Order: Private Property as a Social System

352 Pages·2009·2.988 MB·English

by  Butler Shaffer, Butler D. Shaffer

BOUNDARIES OF ORDER
Private Property As a Social System

BOUNDARIES OF ORDER
Private Property As a Social System
Butler Shaffer
LvMI
MISES INSTITUTE
Copyright © 2009 Butler Shaffer
All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from
the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except
for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.
Published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute
518West Magnolia Avenue
Auburn, Alabama 36830
www.mises.org
ISBN: 978-1-933550-16-9
To the
Remnant

Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes
fi lled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and
doing the things historians usually record, while on the banks,
unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing
songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civ-
ilization is the story of what happened on the banks. Histori-
ans are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.
— Will Durant

Contents
Preface ............................................................................xi
Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................1
Chapter 2 The Eroding Structure ....................................33
Chapter 3 Foundations of Order .....................................61
Chapter 4 Boundary: What Can Be Owned ..................89
Chapter 5 Claim: The Will to Own ...............................125
Chapter 6 Control As Ownership .................................161
Chapter 7 Private Property and Social Order .............187
Chapter 8 Property and the Environment ...................215
Chapter 9 Individualism vs. Collectivism ..................243
Chapter 10 Property and the State .................................277
Chapter 11 Conclusion .....................................................301
Epilogue .........................................................................325
Index .........................................................................327