A Plymouth Lemon

Historian Paul Rahe reminds us that the Plymouth Colony was an early experiment in socialism which flopped, as is typical, and it was discarded in favor of private property. This in a column written several years ago for Power Line, and republished yesterday for its relevance. See Rahe’s conclusion.

The moral is perfectly clear. Self-interest cannot be expunged. Where there is private property and its possession and acquisition are protected and treated with respect, self-interest and jealousy can be deployed against laziness and the desire for that which is not one’s own, and there tends to be plenty as a consequence.

But where one takes from those who join talent with industry to provide for those lacking either or both, where the fruits of one man’s labor are appropriated to benefit another who is less productive, self-interest reinforces laziness, jealousy engenders covetousness, and these combine in a bitter stew to produce both conflict and dearth.

I didn’t remember this history lesson concerning our founders, and was happy for the reminder.