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comment by b_b
b_b  ·  3422 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Can we cogently refute "stealing is stealing"?

I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the idea of property, its history, and its relationship to society in more than just a cursory fashion read Property and Freedom. It's written by a conservative academic who is an expert in the history of Russia/USSR, so I'm sure he'll have some detractors on these boards, but as a piece of scholarship, it's brilliant.





kleinbl00  ·  3422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Richard Pipes dismantled communism/marxism-leninism in such a thorough and relentless fashion that it fundamentally altered my perception of world politics.

You're right; he didn't vote for Mondale or dukakis. Doesn't diminish his arguments one iota.

b_b  ·  3421 days ago  ·  link  ·  

After you read Property and Freedom, you come away with the knowledge that arguments against property are arguments against history and progress.

rob05c  ·  3422 days ago  ·  link  ·  

As a companion, I also recommend Thomas Jefferson's letter to McPherson. It's a very intelligent, well-reasoned consideration of the concept and implications of information as property, written at a time when the concept was new to the world.

http://www.red-bean.com/kfogel/jefferson-macpherson-letter.html