I just really wanted to link this article by John Stossel about
the importance of private property rights in the first Thanksgiving.
Relevant quotes from the Article:
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When the Pilgrims first settled the Plymouth Colony, they organized their farm economy along communal lines. The goal was to share everything equally, work and produce.
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Plymouth settlers faked illness rather than working the common property. Some even stole, despite their Puritan convictions. Total production was too meager to support the population, and famine resulted. Some ate rats, dogs, horses and cats. This went on for two years.
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The people of Plymouth moved from socialism to private farming. The results were dramatic.
"This had very good success," Bradford wrote, "for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. ... By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many. ... "
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When action is divorced from consequences, no one is happy with the ultimate outcome. If individuals can take from a common pot regardless of how much they put in it, each person has an incentive to be a free rider, to do as little as possible and take as much as possible because what one fails to take will be taken by someone else. Soon, the pot is empty and will not be refilled -- a bad situation even for the earlier takers.
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So there's the lost lesson of Thanksgiving y'all. We can share, but only after we've produced. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful to live with an American economy that allows me to enjoy 1080i HDTV football, the freedom to waste hours on political message board while convincing very few, and the still not fully compromised ability to legally steal from suckers through a mechanism known as
poker. I'm only partially kidding.
Happy Thanksgiving, 2+2 Politics!