Man faces the world, as David Hume observed, with basically three kinds of goods: his physical capacity, his mental capacity, and his acquired possessions. How the world’s peoples have translated Man’s goods from possessions into property–legally demarcating what is mine from thine–remains fundamental to conceptions of the proper ends of government, standards of justice, the existence of civil freedom, sustained economic growth, and the continuation of society itself. Marxists have referred to private property as a kind of theft. Free-market economists like Milton Friedman, by contrast, regard the economic freedom rooted in private property as an indispensable prerequisite for the creation of political freedom.

In recognition of the centrality of the idea and institution of property to civilized life, the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization in conjunction with the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester proudly announces that the AHI’s second annual Carl B. Menges Colloquium will be devoted to “Property Rights.” This three-day event, to be held 30 April-May 2 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, will bring together in six sessions over two days  dozens of scholars, students, and informed citizens for intensive conversation on the following themes: 1. the meaning of property; the evolution of property rights as a concept and as an institution; 2. property rights in human beings; 3. property rights in developing nations: the case of China; 4. property rights and the incidence of war; 5. property rights and eminent domain; 6. Kelo v. New London.

The Thursday night kick-off will include a sumptuous feast. F. Scott Kieff, Professor, School of Law and School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, an authority on intellectual property, will provide the colloquium’s opening address. Later in the evening, James W. Ely, the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise at the Vanderbilt Law School, will give the second annual Carl B. Menges Address in honor of one of the driving forces in the creation of the AHI. Professor Ely is one of the world’s foremost scholars on the history of property rights in the United States. The Friday and Saturday sessions will include historians, economists, lawyers, political scientists, and public intellectuals. Undergraduate classes from the University of Rochester, Colgate University, and Hamilton College will also participate.

A tentative schedule is below. For additional information, please contact the AHI through the website, or Robert Paquette (bob@theahi.org).

Tentative Schedule
Second Annual Carl B.Menges Colloquium
Property Rights”
30 April – 2 May, 2009
Turning Stone Resort & Casino
5218 Patrick Road
Verona, NY 13478

Thursday, 30 April 2009:
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Hospitality Suite
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception
5:00 – 5:30 p.m. Introduction to the conference
J. Hunter Brown, President, AHI
James Bradfield, Charter Fellow AHI
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Keynote Address in honor of Howard W. Morgan
Professor F. Scott Kieff Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis
Title: To be announced.
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Banquet
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Carl B. Menges Lecture
Professor James W. Ely
Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University
Title: To be announced.
9:30 – Hospitality Suite
Friday, 1 May 2009:
7:30 – 8: 30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:45 – 10:30 a.m.
Session IThe meaning of property. The evolution of property rights as a concept and as an institution.
8:45 – 10:00 Panel Discussion
10:00- 10:30 Questions from participating students
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Session IIProperty rights in humans
11:00 – 12:15 Panel Discussion
12:15 – 12:45 Questions from participating students
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 – 4:00 p.m. Free time
4:00 – 5:45 p.m.
Session IIIThe emergence of property rights in developing nations: the particular case of China.
4:00 – 5:15 Panel Discussion
5:15 – 5:45 Questions from participating students
6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
Dinner at the headquarters of theAHI in Clinton, NY (Transportation provided)
9:00 – midnight Hospitality Suite
Saturday, 2 May 2009:
7:30 – 8: 30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:45 – 10:30 a.m.
Session IVProperty rights and the incidence of war.
8:45 – 10:00 Panel Discussion
10:00- 10:30 Questions from participating students
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Session VProperty rights and eminent domain: the conflicts between economic efficiency and
justice.
11:00 – 12:15 Panel Discussion
12:15- 12:45 Questions from participating students
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 – 3:00 p.m. Free time
3:00 – 4:45 p.m.
Session VIKelo vs. New London: An analysis of the majority and minority opinions of the U. S. Supreme Court.
3:00 – 4:15 Panel Discussion
4:15 – 4:45 Questions from participating students
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Dinner at the Turning Stone
7:30 – midnight Hospitality Suite
Sunday, 3 May 2009:
Breakfast and departure at your convenience.

Colloquium Organizer:

James Bradfield

Department of Economics

Hamilton College

Clinton, NY, 13323

Telephone: 315 – 859 – 4118