

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 154

No One Washes a Rental Car In memory of Luis Diaz Share Tweet Forward “In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car.” The saying, attributed to economist Lawrence Summers, former President of Harvard, is a delightful metaphor for the relevancy of a culture of private property ownership in human affairs. A renter has little incentive to wash a car that he or she does not own, is returning to the rental agency, and will never drive again. On the other hand, a car owner has a much greater incentive to take good care of his car. Owners care and plan about the future. Private property has a distinguished and polemical intellectual pedigree. John Locke, the 17th century British political philosopher and father of classical liberalism, conceived private property as a “natural right” independent of government. “Every man has Property in his own Person…The Labour of his Body, and the Work of his Hands, we may say are properly his.”



In the 18th century, the moral philosopher and economist Adam Smith argued that property and civil government were dependent on each other, and that the main function of government was to safeguard private property ownership. And, in the 19th century, Karl Marx rejected private property outright stating in his Communist Manifesto that “…the theory of Communists may be summed up in a single phrase: Abolition of private property.”



Today, private property is a legal concept prescribed by a country’s political system for the ownership of property by individuals and non-governmental entities. As it turns out, property rights and national prosperity are intimately connected. Contrary to Marx’s theory, nations prosper when private property rights are clearly defined and enforced in favor of the right of individuals to own resources and use them as they see fit. In the 19th century, Marx did not have the benefit of the rental car metaphor and unfortunately, the Marxist view of property rights captivated much of the world in the 20th century.



But even more important than the now clear positive correlation between property ownership and economic development, is how private property serves to protect our freedoms. In his political treatise The Road to Serfdom, Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek, warns of the tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning:



“The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not. It is only because the control of the means of production is divided among many people acting independently that nobody has complete power over us…”



Economists now realize that the broader and sounder the laws protecting property rights, the clearer the incentives to work, save, and invest. Thus, the stronger property rights are protected, the more efficient the operation of the economy, and the greater the creation of wealth. It is no longer economic orthodoxy that national development is subject to the presence or absence of natural resources. Development has occurred in countries with a scarcity of resources, and development has been dismal in countries rich in natural resources.



Studies show that a handful of institutional variables explain over eighty percent of the international variation in per-capita gross national income with property rights having the highest level of significance. (e.g., Richard Roll and John Talbott, “Why Many Developing Countries Just Aren’t”)



And yet, even “free market” governments are consistently weakening property rights with an onslaught of regulations affecting the use of private property. Regulations negatively impact economic activity because regulations interfere with private property rights and undermine the most effective allocation of resources. On average, GDP per capita is twice as high in nations with the stronger protection of property than in those providing only fairly good protection. (Lee Hoskins and Ana I. Eiras, “Property Rights: The Key to Economic Growth”)



But for most of us these economic studies are unnecessary to fully apprehend how a culture of private property ownership affects our decision-making. We just need to remember when we last washed a rented car before returning it to the car rental company.



Please let us know if you this article. We welcome your feedback.

Abrazos,

Lily & José

(click on the name to email Lily or Jose) (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.



He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics.



In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media. He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami.



José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers. In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru. They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp.



They cycled St. James Way ( El Camino de Santiago de Compostela ) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands.



Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them. Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro.

Books by Dr. José Azel "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations.

If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would recommend its reading to politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With this book Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous"

Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones.

Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería lectura obligatoria de todos los estudiantes, tanto de bachillerato como universitarios, pero, además, se la recomendaría a todos los políticos y periodistas, a todos los policy makers. Azel logra con este libro lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo."

Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers. Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives. They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba. En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now