For any of that to occur, however, the legal system must ensure a substantial measure of individual autonomy, and so we come to the first rule, which can be usefully cast in propertarian terms as a rule of self-possession relating not simply to the person but to the labor of any individual as well. Rooted by classical theorists like John Locke in a kind of natural necessity, self-possession is given a practical, economic rationale by Epstein, who offers a series of arguments to show how inefficient and even impossible various alternative rules would be whereby individuals did not command themselves or their labor but instead were subject to the command of others, such as a ministry of labor. Here, the classic rule of first possession comes into play whereby individuals, starting from the original position of self-possession, acquire unowned things by simply taking possession of them. Although this rule may be given a deductive justification by arguing that no one else has a better claim to the unowned object than the person who first takes possession of it, here too Epstein relies on practical, economic arguments for the rule of first possession, especially on an analysis of the intractable problems that would arise under some centralized regime charged with distributing the possession and use of the things of the world. The rules of individual autonomy and first possession establish the foundation for subsequent rules about voluntary and forced exchanges.
Voluntary exchanges are the subject of rule three.
Forced exchanges are the subjects of rules four, five, and six. Because they are mutually beneficial, contractual transactions move labor and property from lower to higher valued uses, thereby maximizing social wealth. And because they can be repeated with infinite variety, covering everything from spot transitions to complex corporate arrangements, contracts constitute the legal foundation of the vast and varied world of economic affairs that is the focus of this conference. And we know from experience that absent government interference, individuals and organizations, motivated by self-interest alone, will create such a society and will seek constantly to better their own condition, all without government coercing that result. But along the way people may injure each other.