Property Rights in the West

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According to Terry Anderson and Peter Hill in The Not so Wild Wild West, as the title suggests, the history of the western settlement in the United States was very different from what is commonly assumed. Rather than following classical Hollywood portrayal of the violence and unruliness of the western frontier through the gunslingers and outlaws, Anderson and Hill presents a compelling case against such stereotypes. The fact that there was no established government in the west did not mean that it was a “Wild West”. They claimed that the west was really not so wild and that personal rights were maintained and established in the west. Anderson and Hill presents historical cases to defend their claim, all centered around this economic idea of the preserve the property rights of the people. It is first important to understand property rights in economics. It is quite hard to imagine a society that does not have a grasp on property rights. It is in our fundamental nature to not commit murder or steal. In order for those rules to be in effect people must own things like their life and their possessions. In addition, it is these property rights that drive our society. This ownership drives competition and motivates people to strive towards something bigger in life. Thus, the regulation and control of these property rights is important to not only the economic but also the foundation of our society. This begs us to ask: what kind of infrastructure do we need to maintain such rights? Thus, Anderson and Hill explore this question through their historical account of the America West. As a time regarded as “chaos” without any true form of government regulation, the frontier provides case studies that describe the development of cooperation ... ... middle of paper ... ...n based on the government’s and very specific laws were created. If the details are of interest, the book has many of them but the key thing that Anderson and Hill underlines is that competition drives justice rather than coercion. Such creation of ordinances and associations are the result of mutually beneficial business arrangement rather than by the iron fist of the government. In all these cases, that is what Anderson and Hill try to portray. They conclude that the west was for the most part orderly and that different standards of justice did prevail in the different situations of settlers. Even if the small organizations did emulate governments, their points is that these firms were small enough and had little possibility of surviving like a real government under pressure. Thus, it seems private rights could exist with the sovereign in these author’s belief.

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