{"product_id":"the-meaning-of-property-freedom-community-and-the-legal-imagination","title":"The Meaning of Property: Freedom  Community  and the Legal Imagination","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the bestselling author of For Common Things  a brilliant and ambitious rethinking of the meaning of property in democratic society  In his latest book  Jedediah Purdy takes up a question of deep and lasting importance: why is property ownership a value to society? His answer returns us to the foundations of American society and enables us to interpret the writings of the patron saint of liberal economics  Adam Smith  in a wholly new light. Unlike Milton Friedman and other free-market scholars  who consider property a key to efficient markets  Purdy draws upon Smiths theories to argue that the virtues of wealth are social rather than economic. In Purdys view  ownership does much more than shield one from government interference. Property shapes social life in ways that bring us closer to  or take us farther from  the ideal of a community of free and equal members. This view of property is neither libertarian nor communitarian but treats the community as the precondition of individual freedom. This view informed U.S. law in the early days of the republic  Purdy writes  and it is one that we need to restore today. Touching upon some of the most charged issues in American politics and law  including slavery  inheritance  international development  and climate change  The Meaning of Property offers a compelling new view of property and freedom and enriches our understanding of democratic society.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44946655281205,"sku":"ByrdShop_0300171447","price":27.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780300171440.jpg?v=1769959386","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-meaning-of-property-freedom-community-and-the-legal-imagination","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}