Property Rights and the Limits of Democracy - 9781852785291

Property Rights and the Limits of DemocracyAuthor(s): Charles K. Rowley\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd\nISBN-13: 9781852785291, 978-1852785291\nSynopsis\nProperty rights lie at the heart of the economic success of any economy and the extent to which its citizens enjoy economic freedom. At a time when Eastern Europe is breaking free from the yoke of collectivist-socialist ideas, this book presents essays by four political economists evaluating a range of feasible reforms intended to breathe new life into constitutional republicanism. The first essay by James M. Buchanan grounds the defence of private property ownership in the protection that it affords to individual liberty. This is followed by a succinct but comprehensive account by Gordon Tullock of his research programme in rent seeking. This is a great and instructive contribution which skilfully draws out the dangerous implications of rent seeking.