"The design here is to give each one the secure and peacable possession of his own property.”

"The first and chief design of every system of government is to maintain justice; to prevent the members of a society from incroaching on anothers property, or siezing what is not their own. The design here is to give each one the secure and peacable possession of his own property.”

          ~ Adam Smith, from his Lectures on Jurisprudence [emphasis mine]

[Hat tip Adam Smith Works]

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