The Price of Politics

The Price of Politics examines the historical, political, and legal heritage of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights to come to grips with modern political developments. Using a cross-disciplinary, multi-methods approach, this book explores both the normative and the emperical dimensions of the debate.

This book makes the unconventional claim that all of the rights in the U.S. Constitution are unified since they are derived from the same sources. Using the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial decision of Kelo v. City of New London to explore one of the most important constitutional questions of our time, this book reaches across disciplines and subfields to bring forth an innovative understanding of rights. The book derives its understanding of rights from historical sources and philosophical texts which then serve as the basis for the empirically backed claim that rights in U.S. have been sacrificed for partisan gain and that the unbiased protection of rights is the only manner in which a free and equitable government and economy can be sustained. Given the theoretical and practical implications of the property rights debate, understanding it is important for everyone in the U.S. and abroad.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Property Rights and the Common Law Tradition
Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Locke on Property
Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Pre-Constitution America
Chapter 5 Chapter 4. The Constitution's View of Property
Chapter 6 Chapter 5. Examining the Decisions
Chapter 7 Chapter 6. State Reactions toKelo v. City of New London
Chapter 8 Chapter 7. Implications
Chapter 9 Conclusion