Contributed by Mark Fish
Libertarians defend the individual’s right to property, so we must understand what property actually is in order to mount a proper defense.
In his pamphlet, “Agrarian Justice”, Thomas Paine points out, “Every man, as an inhabitant of the earth, is a joint proprietor of it in its natural state, it does not follow that he is a joint proprietor of cultivated earth.”
While not the first to do so, Paine clearly articulates the difference between an individual’s right to natural property and an individual’s right to private property. The idea that one can only earn property is true of private property, but never true about natural property, which is a gift of God, or nature if you prefer, to all. It would be strange to claim a person has a right to life, but then require that person to earn title beforehand to the air they breathe, the water they drink or the food they gather from nature.
If we Libertarians are to defend an individual’s right to property, we must include not only private property, but natural property as well. Where natural property rights are held in common, it’s only just that it be equally distributed to the all individuals for the denial of their exclusive right to access this natural property.
In Alaska, the statehood act established that all subsurface property rights be held by the state. Article 1, Section 2 of our state’s constitution states, 1. “All political power is inherent in the people.” 2. “All government originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the people as a whole.” These two facts clearly establish that the people of the state, own the state of Alaska and consequently, its subsurface resources.
Since the permanent fund dividend is derived from the profit off those commonly-held subsurface resources and is the only direct benefit to all Alaskans from those resources, it certainly qualifies as “for the good of the people as a whole”.
We often hear the argument that the permanent fund dividend is socialism. But the very definition of the word dividend, “A sum of money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders out of its profits,” debunks this charge. When you share profits from a company owned by shareholders, it’s capitalism. The PFD is wealth distribution, not a taking wealth from others and redistributing it, but passing through to its rightful owners a share of the profits. This makes the PFD a libertarian assertion of a property right. The rest of our resource profits and taxes are spent most often on socialist schemes, taking from the many and redistributing to the few.
It is noteworthy that unlike a socialist scheme, participation in the PFD program is voluntary. No one is forced to take the money, and those with a moral objection to it can always choose not to participate. This voluntary participation aligns with the Libertarians advocacy of non-aggression and freewill.
Alaskans have agreed to the terms of the distribution of the PFD and codified in law those terms. Our governor and legislature have seen fit to ignore the law, setting themselves up as a king and his oligarchs, claiming a constitutional authority to do so while ignoring that same constitution’s declaration that the source of their power is the freewill of that collection of individuals called the people of Alaska.
There is nothing more abhorrent to Libertarians than a group that claims authority over an individual’s property and an individual’s rights. This is why you can count on Alaska’s Libertarians to understand and defend your rights, including your right to a share of the profits from our commonly-held resources. Which is what the permanent fund dividend is.