America’s Weak Property Rights Are Harming Those Most in Need

Alexander Hamilton said at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that “one great obj[ect] of Gov[ernment] is the personal protection and security of property.” James Madison, similarly, wrote that “government is instituted to protect property of every sort.” Madison tried to ensure that the new Constitution would honor that principle, in part by authoring the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment, which restricts the government’s power to take private property.

Today, however, property rights receive only weak constitutional protection. In recent decades, the courts have too often allowed governments to violate property rights with little or no judicial scrutiny.

This should concern anyone who cares about protecting the rights of minorities and the poor. These groups are the primary victims when property rights are violated. They have seen the state condemn their homes for dubious private “development” projects. They have seen law enforcement seize their assets even when they have never been charged with any crime, much less convicted. And they have been shut out of housing and job opportunities by onerous zoning laws that block housing construction. These groups have the most to gain from stronger protection for property rights, which would enforce tighter constraints on government’s power to take property and block development.

[Adam Cohen: The enemy of poor Americans]

Constitutional protection for property rights began weakening in the early 20th century. That shift was largely driven by Progressives’ perception that property rights mainly benefit the wealthy, and that they were an obstacle to benevolent, expert social planning. The experience of the last 80 years suggests that the