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A radically illuminating view of our most precious rights. All legally enforceable rights cost money. A practical, commonsense notion? Yes, but one ignored by almost everyone, from libertarian ideologues to Supreme Court justices to human rights advocates. To "fight for your rights," or anyone else's, is not just to debate principles but to haggle over budgets. Most conservatives imagine that we exercise our rights to property, speech, and religion "free" of government "interference." Yet such rights would not exist if government could not collect taxes to codify, protect, and enforce them. Meanwhile, most liberals prefer to avoid the harsh reality that spending resources on some rights means not spending them on other, perhaps more valuable, rights. The simple insight that rights are expensive reminds us that freedom is not violated by a government that taxes and spends, but requires it-and requires a citizenry vigilant about how money is allocated. Laying bare the folly of some of our most cherished myths about rights, this groundbreaking tract will permanently change the terms of our most critical and contentious political debates.