It is dif®cult to imagine a state without stable rules regarding the allocation of resources. At the same time, the content and nature of these rules are as changeable as the economic, social and political circum- stances in which they operate. A successful state must therefore recog- nise the institution of property, while also recognising the need to modify property rules and distributions in appropriate circumstances. In practical terms, the state must have the power to take, tax and regulate property without the consent of individual property owners, but the exercise of these powers must be subject to some sort of restraint
