The Seizure of Trump's Jet

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The Seizure of Trump's Jet The question has been presented: "Would it be right for a government to impound and sell one of Donald Trump's many Learjets in order to pay for a life saving cancer treatment?" A restatement of this question may be : Would it be right for the government to seize the property of any man in order to benefit the society at large? The answer to this question is not a simple one. The inquiry immediately brings to light several layered questions concerning the matter. One might look first into the natural rights of man. What rights does man have according to nature? Secondly, one must consider the rights of a man as part of a society or one who has entered into a social contract. The third aspect up for observation is the code of the particular society of which that man is a part, in this case the United States of America. Each of these views compounded might yield an accurate picture on whether or not an action of the sort, seizure of private property for the public good, would be right, morals not taken into account. However, with morals taken into consideration, the complexity of attaining an answer may compound with every moral theory. Several people have attempted to answer the above questions among them Rousseau, the writers of French Revolutionary documents, the authors of the United States Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and Hume in the context of morality. All persons seem to agree that man is born with some semblance of "natural rights" though they disagree on exactly what these rights are and their relevance. They also see the need for society and social contracts, yet they argue the point on exactly what should be included in such contracts and their conditions. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ll as property (Enquiry, p28)." From this point of view, such actions would be wrong. Under natural law a person's property may be taken at any time, so he enters into a society and a social contract. As part of the social contract he makes his goods and services available to the society in return for the benefits of being a member of the society. This view is also reiterated in The Constitution of the United States, of which Donald Trump is a citizen. Probable cause is given to take some of his excessive property. This action is also supported by Hume, assuming that Trump was not singled out because he is rich. Returning to the specific question at hand, is it right for a government to seize a man's, Donald Trump's, private property to serve the public good, the answer is YES, according to natural right, societal right, United States law, and Hume's morals.

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