Richard Epstein

Richard Allen Epstein (born April 17, 1943) is an American legal scholar, law professor, and author.

Quotes

• The problem to which the eminent domain clause is directed is that of political obligation and organization. What are the reasons for the formation of the state? What can the state demand of the individuals citizens whom it both governs and represents?
  • Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain. Harvard University Press. 1985. ISBN 978-0-674-86729-1.  (quote from p. 3)

• Legal intervention costs money; legal intervention opens up new avenues for abuse, including totalitarian excesses by government officials who seek to determine preferences on personal matters.
  • Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Case for Classical Liberalism. University of Chicago Press. June 2003. ISBN 978-0-226-21304-0.  (quote from p. 157)

Quotes about Epstein

• Epstein says that there are six or seven simple rules, depending on when he is counting. The basic six are "self-ownership, or autonomy; first possession; voluntary exchange; protection against aggression; limited privilege for cases of necessity; and takings of property for public use on payment of just compensation" (p 53). The seventh rule is that if there is to be redistribution to the poor it must be financed by flat taxes (p 148).
  • John C. Harrison: (1996). "Review of Simple Rules for a Complex World by Richard A. Epstein". The University of Chicago Law Review 63 (2). (quote from p. 843)