James d. Gwartney

Video:
The Power of Property Rights
Throughout history people have tried other forms of ownership such as large-scale
cooperatives, socialism, and communism. On any scale beyond the small village with a strong
cultural harmony, these experiences have ranged from unsuccessful to disastrous. To date, we
do not know of any institutional arrangement that provides individuals with as much freedom

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and incentive to serve others by using resources productively and efficiently as does private
ownership within the framework of the rule of law
(?)
.
Video:
The Tragedy of the Commons
The reference to the “rule of law” is critical. Property rights can never be unlimited.
Societies impose rules (“drive on the right side of the road” or “have a fire alarm in your
home”) to ensure that the assertion of rights by one person does not cause harm to others. The
Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase has pointed out that in some cases markets can
achieve the same outcome, but that when many people are affected public rules may be the
only solution.
Read:
Private Property and Opportunity Costs by Dwight Lee

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Competitive Markets
Competition is conducive to the continuous improvements of industrial
efficiency. It leads producers to eliminate wastes and cut costs so that they may
undersell others. It weeds out those whose costs remain high and thus operates
to concentrate production in the hands of those whose costs are low.
(23)
— Clair Wilcox, Former Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College
Competition is present when the market is open and alternative sellers are free to enter.
Competition is the lifeblood of a market economy. The rival firms may operate in local,
regional, national, or even global markets. The competitive process places pressure on each to
operate efficiently and cater to the preferences of consumers. Competition weeds out