# Why Property Rights Matter **URL:** **By** Timothy Sandefur, Christina Sandefur, Trevor Burrus, Aaron Ross Powell **Published:** February 19, 2016 --- Timothy and Christina Sandefur join us to talk about the importance of establishing governments and societies that respect property rights. How important are private property rights? What does a society look like that has no property rights, if that’s even possible? How did the Founding Fathers think about property rights? This week Timothy and Christina Sandefur join us for a conversation about an essential aspect of what it means to be free. Timothy notes that, "If you can't own something, you can't have other kinds of rights." **Show Notes and Further Reading** Timothy and Christina Sandefur's book, [_Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st-Century America_](https://www.amazon.com/Cornerstone-Liberty-Property-Century-America/dp/1930865961) has a new edition. When talking about the effect property rights have on the world around them, Timothy mentions the Wallace Stevens poem "[Anecdote of the Jar](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/3778)," and Trevor talks about the 1980 movie from Jamie Uys, _[The Gods Must Be Crazy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080801/)._ Christina tells the story of Glenn Odegard and the house he built to turn into a rental property in Jerome, Arizona. [Here is a local news story about what happened](http://www.azfamily.com/story/29070621/jerome-tells-property-owners-short-term-vacation-rentals-are-illegal).