The Fifth Amendment and the Eighth Commandment

Professor Kent Schooland has posted "Eminent Domain and the Eighth Commandment," a piece with his thoughts about the morality of condemning property and the system of "just compensation."

Given the realities of eminent domain, perhaps we should prepare our children with relevant civics lessons for the playground. When a gang of kids wants to grab a pretty ring off the finger of a little girl, they can avoid annoying accusations of “theft” by following a few simple steps:

1) The gang must use the Latin words eminent domain, never “stealing.”

2) The gang must designate one of their members as leader—thus the “superior owner” of everything on the playground.

3) The gang leader must instruct his or her lieutenants to “tax” a few coins from other children on the playground in order to offer “just compensation” to the girl when her ring is taken.

4) The gang leader must explain that his actions are for the collective good—as he determines the “good.” If the girl cries over the loss of her ring, this can be justified. The leader can explain that it is selfish to keep one’s own belongings; and it is unselfish to take what belongs to others.

Read the whole thing here.