Poetry

But the moat has grown shallow. Investments have a funny property that has worked a quiet magic over the years: Their returns compound. Many Americans have regularly put small amounts of money into private investments, and these stakes are now impressive. Armed with newfound wealth, many are again pursuing Jefferson’s property-based society, and aggressively supporting limits on large and intrusive government. Their voices have been added to those of traditional property owners, and this new coalition has acquired significant political might. Today, as a result, it is far less politically risky to advocate Social Security privatization and other free- market policies.

Mr. Hassett is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.