How private property fosters social justice.

last updated 8 January 2015

China

Editorial

It’s a new day for China’s farmers, said Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post in an editorial. A new law passed by the national legislature guarantees the right to own private property, which foreign commentators see as a boon for China’s growing middle class. But the law means even more to hundreds of millions of farmers. Until now, farmers have had no legal title to land that “has often been in family hands for many generations.” That insecurity has caused great unrest. Peasants have been protesting the seizure of their land by corrupt bureaucrats eager to put up golf courses or luxury developments—and some of the protests were violent. Now, rural China should see not only tranquility but also prosperity. Farmers will have an incentive to make improvements to their property, and they’ll be more “anchored to their communities, making for less migration to cities in search of jobs.” Still, passing a law is just the first step. Hundreds of scholars and retired officials signed a petition against the law, saying it “overturns the basic system of socialism.” Change is coming, but it “will not come about quickly.”