I was reading the Biblical story of creation when it came to my mind that the first lesson of Genesis Chapter 2—other than God telling us it is not good for man to be alone and that animals aren’t suitable helpers, and so, therefore, he created woman within the first days, or even hours of creation—was that private property was necessary and the importance of respecting was crucial.
When God created the Earth and gave Adam and Eve autonomy, He made an exception for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As far as that particular tree was concerned, God said it was off-limits. No trespassing. Violators would be cast out and forced into a laborious existence and surely die. The story of Adam and Eve can be metaphorically understood as an example of property rights.
In this context, God can be seen as the owner or creator of the Garden of Eden, who grants Adam and Eve permission to reside there, making them the stewards or inhabitants of the property. The Garden of Eden represents a piece of land or property initially entrusted to them.
God set the rule forbidding access to the Tree of Knowledge to ensure proper management. This restriction can be likened to a specific condition or covenant placed upon the use of the property by the owner. It limits what Adam and Eve can do within their permitted domain.
Overall, this interpretation of the story of God giving Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden, with the exception of the Tree of Knowledge, can be viewed as an allegory for the establishment of property rights, the responsibilities that come with ownership, and the need to respect boundaries to maintain a balanced and sustainable eco-system.
This all to this believer, and admittedly, you need to read between the lines to conclude that God is teaching us that strong private property rights are fundamental to human rights. Fast forward to today, and we can see evidence of the role property rights play in fueling economic growth and social progress. This is precisely why a system that prioritizes and protects private property rights is God's preferred choice, as made so abundantly clear in Genesis.
Like many people who know me and have heard and read my words over the past several years, I greatly believe in the morality of prosperity. And without question, our civilization has made extraordinary strides in economic progress. This has been especially true since the Industrial Revolution. Fast forward to now, and with innovation, technology, and physical and intellectual property rights, there seems to be no limit to how prosperous we can become.
Still, despite the tremendous gains made in the developed nations, there remains an unacceptable poverty level throughout many parts of the world. This especially includes the place where prosperity was created, and strong property rights were established to sustain abundant prosperity. I’m referring, of course, to the Middle East because despite the oceans of oil beneath their sand, poverty is endemic to the region.
Besides the obvious issue of a protracted religious war, is there anything else that stands out about the Middle East? I think there is. It is a lack of hope and despair due in no small part to the absence of private property and the strong property rights to protect it.
According to the Property Rights Alliance, the countries with the strongest property rights include Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland, France, Spain, and, wouldn't you know, Israel!
Conversely, according to the same study, the countries with the weakest property rights include Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Kuwait, Greece, Amman, and Jordan. How interesting is that?
As the Property Rights Alliance makes clear, the reason for analyzing property rights worldwide is due to the importance of property rights in promoting economic growth, social development, prosperity, and innovation. As stated in the report:
There’s broad academic literature highlighting relevant impacts between the respect for property rights and making strides of the quality of life of citizens, making property rights a fundamental piece of a virtuous ecosystem for human development.
It can't be stressed enough that property rights are legal protections and fundamental human rights that safeguard individual liberty. Some argue, even today, that certain societies will never embrace the idea of property rights or democracy because they lack those traditions. Those same predictions were made about Germany and Japan after World War II.
In 1947, William L. Clayton, a Dallas businessman, came up with a thesis of an economic rescue plan for post-war Europe. Clayton shared it with George Marshall, who then gave a speech about it at Harvard. It became known as the Marshall Plan.
It's worth remembering that postwar Europe in the late 1940s was really in no better shape than many of the war-ravaged nations in the Middle East in modern times. Indeed, many predictions about postwar Europe are being made today, such as that Middle Eastern societies will never embrace capitalism, private property, or free trade. But, to his great credit, Clayton knew something that few others saw at the time: he understood the morality of certain institutions, including property rights and trade, as tools for prosperity.
Indeed, William F. Clayton was not only the architect of the Marshall Plan but also of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. And what ended up happening in Europe because of the Marshall Plan was that two nations that spent decades hating each other, Germany and France, became each other's biggest trading partners. There is a lesson to be learned from this.
Private property, low taxes, hard money, and liberalized trading arrangements are the recipe for prosperity regardless of where it is tried. God intended it for Adam and Eve, and Clayton used the idea to rescue and rebuild Europe. I have no doubt these same moral and classical liberal institutions can help rebuild a war-torn Middle East.
It will require a battle over ideas instead of over land, it'll require tolerance instead of intolerance, and economic inclusion over political exclusion. No other country in the world can do this, in my view—but I believe America can. I believe America must. And I believe in the marrow of my bones, under the right leadership, that America will.
