Lesson Six

Property Rights

·        Property rights makes a difference between rich and poor countries. It makes the decision of whether you progress or regress. You must be able to do these things in order to have property rights: 1) use it   2) benefit from it    3) transfer it

Formal & Informal

·        Informal: the only way we can prove it is if we have possession of it or you have witnesses.

·        Formal: you have documentary to prove your property rights

Property Rights Defined

·        Property rights can be defined in 3 ways:

1.   Anarchy- nobody rules, there is no law

2.   Rule of Men- we have laws but tomorrow the laws may change. A person makes the rules. The rules varies with the person.

3.   Rule of Law- Property rights are most secure. We have a limited government. The constitution is our basic law, it limits our government.

Copyrights & Patents

·        Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution states that you have property right over your thoughts once you put them down on paper.

Competetion

·        Competion makes it more difficult. It drives the prices down. When you have property rights. Resources tend not to be wasted. They are utilized to their best. When there is competition resources tend to get wasted.