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In a capitalist society, private property is the highest public interest.

2026-09-05 13:30:58Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA YLLI MANJANI
In a capitalist society, private property is the highest public interest.
Vasil Bedinaj, Ylli Manjani, Luan Muça

Beyond the debate about whether or not the prime minister was right to intervene to announce the expropriation of the two "sherds" of Orikum, there is a much more important question than the case itself: can private property be stripped of its protection, in a society that claims to be built on a market economy?

I'm also leaving aside the argument of using taxes for wanton expropriations. I'm leaving it aside not because it's not valid, but because I have the idea that when it comes to taxes and the spending of the money that comes from them, the collective culture is not that compelling.

I want to address the essence of the principle of the sanctity of property.

In Albania, we have developed a dangerous habit of solving every problem with an excavator, a Council of Ministers, or a political statement. But private property is not an administrative obstacle that is removed when it bothers the government. It is the foundation on which the entire economic and legal system of a liberal state is built.

A market society cannot exist without private property. Capitalism does not begin with the businessman, nor with the investor, nor with the bank. It begins with the guarantee that what is yours cannot be taken away because the government deems it appropriate. It is this guarantee that creates investment, development, and trust.

It is therefore paradoxical to hear the argument that the “public interest” requires the sacrifice of private property. Indeed, in a market economy, the protection of private property is itself the greatest public interest. For when property is not secure, no one invests, no one builds, and no one believes that tomorrow they will enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Of course, the state has the right to expropriate. This is recognized in every democratic constitution. But expropriation is the exception, not the rule. It is allowed only when there is a real public interest, defined by law, with a regular procedure and with fair compensation. Expropriation is done when a road, school or hospital is built that interests us all, and not to make an olive grove! Even less does the public interest make sense when expropriation is done as a punishment for corrupt owners! It is not an instrument of moral punishment against someone who behaves badly, nor a means of setting a public example.

But when men fight with their wives, should we take their property?!

What does the public gain here?!

The moment expropriation is used as a response to the owner's behavior, it ceases to be a legal institution and becomes a political sanction. Today it could be two thugs in Orikum. Tomorrow it could be a businessman opposing the government. The day after tomorrow a citizen rejecting a project. Precedent is much more dangerous than characters.

The Constitution does not protect good people. It also protects bad people. Constitutional rights are not measured by the character of the owner, but by the limits of the state's power.

Many may have no sympathy for the protagonists of Orikum. They may have been wrong, they may have been aggressive, they may even be criminally liable if they have broken the law. But criminal punishment and expropriation are two very different things. One punishes behavior. The other affects a fundamental right.

The history of modern states has shown that private property is not simply an economic right. It is the boundary that separates the citizen from the government. Whenever that boundary is weakened in the name of a momentary interest, freedom is also weakened.

Therefore, the question is not whether Rama was right about the two Orikum blacksmiths. The question is whether Albania will remain a state where property is taken only according to the law, or a country where property can be taken according to the whim of the government.

In a market society, private property is not an obstacle to the public interest. The point is, the state somehow orients or forces the owner to make his property an olive grove. The private olive grove is certain to be better than the state's.

Private property is undoubtedly the best for development. It is the highest public interest. Because where the security of property ends, the uncertainty of freedom begins.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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