Book excerpt: The materials in this collection are drawn from many disciplines, including economics,law, philosophy and political science. Yet they are all directed to a topic that is worthy of examination from multiple perspectives: Liberty, Property and the Law. Stated in this general form, this topic is as broad as law itself. The relationship of liberty andproperty to the law surfaces whenever and wherever people interact with each otherunder the command and control of the sovereign. Those who hold sovereign power may choose to protect liberty and property or to undermine it. But the regrettably high frequency of political abuse throughout the world does not justify the exercise ofarbitrary legal power; nor does it limit human aspirations for a sound legal and socialorder to block political excesses. First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.