Читать книгу Liberalism and Capitalism Today - Paul-Jacques Lehmann - Страница 14

The rights underpinning liberalism existed long before the passing of the laws that would simply ratify the social pact by a social contract. The meeting of the general philosophical principles of liberalism that we have just defined, and its legal implementation, can only take place in a democratic political system.

Liberty, equality, individual interest and responsibility are only obtained and implemented within a strictly appropriate legal framework with control guaranteed by the public authorities. In particular, these principles require that the right of ownership exist and be respected, here, too, materialized by the free signing of contracts. Indeed, the right of private property is not only the precondition of capitalism, but also its cornerstone.

Thus, Friedrich Hayek goes so far as to say that where there is no property, there is no justice. He considers that the right to property must be established so that all members of a community can own property, freely dispose of it and be protected against its usurpation. In this regard, it is worth recalling that in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, private property is recognized as an inalienable right that protects the individual from their neighbors as well as from political power. All contracts must be governed by the regime of freedom. Thus, the first example of private property, land ownership, must be extended to all contracts in which property is likely to encourage savings.