… is from page 258 of Tom Bethell’s excellent 1998 book, The Noblest Triumph:
Property is a system of punishments, in additions to rewards.
Of course, under crony capitalism with its bailouts and subsidies, property of this sort is compromised. And being so compromised, property no longer serves one of its most useful functions: directing the use of scarce resources onto socially beneficial – and off of socially harmful – avenues.
