So-Called Property Rights

Republican. In "Government Made Easy," Weld skewers the leading Republican and Democratic presidential aspirants because, unlike the with-it Weld, they "really don't get it." In a couple of paragraphs, Weld tries to position himself as a thoughtful guy who understands the virtues of markets by attack ing nationalized health care, wage and price controls, and collective bargaining by public school employees. He is also foursquare against slavery-really. Tough stuff in Mass achusetts. What role does he seefor government? It is to appeal "to the better angels of our nature, when it contributes to a sense of community, both at home and abroad." How does it do this? By, among other things, strong environ mental controls. Let's focus on only a few of his pronouncements to see the depth of his lack of knowledge of markets and law. Weld asserts that "Individuals and busi nesses simply will not protect the environ ment for our descendants; we need vigorous government enforcement and conservation measures." He scorns "backers of so-called property rights."

He does not understand that property rights 6 are the key to environmental protection. People, not government leaders, protect resources, environmental or otherwise. The worst abuses of the environment in the United States have come on government-controlled lands. The communists left an environmental nightmare behind in Russia and other eastern European countries. The Virtue of Property Weld's mistake is common. It is one that Tom Bethell discusses brilliantly in his new book, The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages. Those who do not understand the virtues of liberty and mar kets, as exemplified by private property, believe that problems can best be overcome by having the right person in charge. Sure, dolts like Stalin and Brezhnev got it wrong and ruined the environment (and everything else); if only there had been a good person in charge.... The Russians needed someone who knew how to exploit "the better angels of our nature," as Weld says. Unfortunately, heaven on earth is not possible; Weld could not produce it in Massachusetts-good luck on a larger scale.

In any event, Weld need not worry about individuals and businesses destroying the environment-it was nationalized in the early 1970s when the EPA was created and given near total control over environmental matters. But in recent decades politicians have fared well by perpetuating the myth that centralized control of the environment is needed to save it. The Al Gores and William Welds of the world will save us from our ecologically destructive selves! Weld thinks people can "pursue happiness" when the government is there to help them do so. Of course, it is the other way around. Peo ple naturally pursue happiness. Government "helps" that to happen not by centralized con trol of the use of property but by helping to protect and enforce private property rights.

Weld's lack of respect for the fundamental legal regime that allowed this nation to be so successful is astonishing. Besides deriding the fundamental liberty of property rights, he also says we should "not give ourselves over to generalized weeping about due process." Toss out the Constitution. Weld also focuses on the need for strong antitrust laws. After all, he notes, "govern ment is good when it safeguards our liveli hoods from predatory business practices." As a former Federal Trade Commission bureaucrat, I can report that businesses often engage in "predatory business practices." Over and over, we see businesses attempting to gain market share at the expense of their competitors! Many practices are used in an effort to lure customers from one seller to another: new product innovations, quality improvements, price reductions, and advertising. What is pre dation to a losing firm is usually another firm's superior service to the public. Don't like UPS? Switch to Fed Ex or DHL. Don't like the Department of Justice? Switch to, uh, well, just trust Weld to put the right person there to produce good government.

Weld's concern about "predation," which most people presume to mean really nasty business tactics-the evil stuff shown in so many television shows and movies-is belied by the dearth of cases. Even the Clinton regu lators find so little to pick on that they are reduced to the foolishness of devoting public resources to beating up on Microsoft: one multibillion dollar company giving away its Web browser to lure customers from the market-dominant browser of another multi billion dollar company. They even have tape recordings of Bill Gates saying that he wants to beat the competition! 7 Weld hits the nail on the head when he notes that "Economic Man will take the whole pie for himself every time, if you let him." That, in straightforward language, is in fact an essential assumption in economic theory. Theory assumes that people are interested in maximizing their own well-being. Much of this has to do with obtaining wealth for per sonal and family comfort, but it goes far beyond that. Well-known people often derided as Robber Barons-Carnegie, Ford, and Rockefeller-earned billions! And what became of their wealth? It was mostly given to charity.

Humans are inherently competitive. That drive can be exploited largely for good and productive purposes, such as devising better products that help people, or it can be devot ed to wheedling resources out of the pockets of those who worked to earn them. One can be a thief, which is clearly unproductive to soci ety. One can also be a politician who exploits the power of government to force people to give up earned resources to those who are wise enough to support the politician. Perhaps I have been overly harsh. Weld is not a deep thinker. Like many politicians he prob ably sincerely believes he can tell us what to do to live a better life. He has the same instincts as George Bernard Shaw, who believed that the Soviets were doing a great job of crafting a "new man" devoid of self-interest. When the Berlin wall fell, the crust finally fell from most people's eyes about the real nature of central control. Not William Weld's.

He still does not get it. The Mexican people can count their lucky stars. -ROGER MEINERS University of Texas, Arlington Senior Associate, PERC meiners@uta.edu Recycling Labor by Charles W Baird I n 1998 Boeing and MCl WorldCom, to mention only two, announced plans for massive layoffs. Boeing actually cut 48,000 jobs. Throughout 1998 there were many announcements of intended mergers-for example, Exxon with Mobil and Chevron with Shell-most of which included plans for substantial job cuts. Total layoff announce ments in the United States in 1998 exceeded 600,000. To those who received such announcements it must have seemed that their personal for tunes were ruined and the economy was falling apart. No one wants to leave a job involuntarily, and when one hears of it hap pening, one is naturally sympathetic. The per ceived instability of employment in freemar ket economies is a major reason why many Americans support government intervention in the labor market.