Mondays with Murray: This Land Is Whose Land?

Murray Rothbard is largely known for his work in economics and libertarian philosophy, but over the years I've come to enjoy his writing on history the most. Every accounting of historical events - whether "official" or "revisionist" - will come with some sort of bias depending on the goal of the author. Rothbard's goal in his historical writings is to highlight the constant struggle of tyranny vs. liberty. As someone with a keen interesting in the advancement of the ideas of liberty, viewing history through this framework tends to be the most palatable.The recent controversy over at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada has brought the issue of land ownership to the forefront. While most libertarians tend to agree that the Federal Government does not and should not have a rightful claim to the land on which Cliven Bundy's cattle were grazing, many have brought up the idea that "all" of this land had previously belonged to Native Americans, and therefore even Bundy's claim over his own land is dubious.It's difficult to say what the truth is without knowing the exact circumstances surrounding the Bundy family's original occupancy of the land in Nevada that now makes up the Bundy Ranch. Was the property simply unowned and homesteaded by the Bundy's? Was it acquired through free exchange? Or were others forced off the land to make way for the Bundy's claim? Without this knowledge it's difficult to make a full assessment, but it brings to mind the historical question of the native Americans and their claims to land ownership as it pertains to the European settlers during America's colonial years.Murray Rothbard wrote about the relationship between the Native Americans and white settlers in the Virginia colony Conceived in Liberty:

Generally we must say that the native American Indians regarded the newcomers with a mixture of brotherly kindness and eagerness to make contact with the world outside; this, however, was countered by hostility based on the well-founded fear that the colonists were out to seize their lands. The whites generally regarded the Indians as possessors of land ripe for expropriation. This attitude of the whites was partially justified, as Indian land was typically owned not by the individual, but by the collective tribal unit, and furthermore was inalienable under tribal law. This was particularly true of the land itself as contrasted to its annual use. Furthermore, tribal law often decreed land ownership over large tracts of even unused acreage. Still, however, this land inequity provided no excuse for the physical dispersion of individual Indians from their homes and from land actually used, let alone the plundering of their crops and the slaughter of the Indian people.

Native American populations tend to often become glorified as holier-than-thou from modern day historical revisionists, but the truth is that native American hierarchies were similar to that of the settlers in many ways. Much like modern governments, Indian tribes claimed jurisdiction over large amounts of wild land, preventing legitimate acquisition by first users, or homesteaders of the land. Likewise, under order of the crown, English settlers would do the very same thing before parcelling out land to the individual colonists.To truly respect the libertarian principle of homesteading, land can only be legitimately acquired when an initial user transforms unowned land into a productive use. When settlers arrived from Europe, they should have had no right whatsoever to claim the land currently being used by natives. By the same token, they should have had every right to settle land that was unused by native tribes.A misunderstanding or rejection of homesteading principles have led to many conflicts over the centuries, from constant battles between native Americans and white settlers, to the standoff at the Bundy Ranch today. A misunderstanding of how specific tracts of lands were acquired historically can lead to a lot of confusion, but that makes it all the more important to emphasize the principle of homesteading in the first place.For more on the concept of homesteading, check out my interview with Dr. Timothy Terrell from the Lions of Liberty Podcast!Check out our past editions of Mondays with Murray by visiting the full archive! Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!