Property in Ourselves

The recent back-and-forth between Socratic and me (to be found in the comments here) has gotten me thinking again about the concept that property ownership stems from our ownership of our own labor. What is the connect between labor and property ownership? What do 'rights' mean in this context?

As if by magic, the issue of takings has resurfaced in Texas! In the first big decision following the terrible Kelo case, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that, yes, it's still just fine to take property from one private owner and give it to another (jurisprudence here). The 'catch' - such as there is one - is that the taking has to be part of some greater economic development scheme by a public entity. I'll turn it over to Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy:

In Kelo, the Supreme Court of course of course held that "economic development" is sufficient justification to allow condemnation of private property for transfer to a new private owner. Moreover, as I explained in detail in my previous post on Western Seafood, Kelo virtually immunizes from challenge any economic development condemnation that is undertaken pursuant to an "integrated redevelopment plan." Virtually all economic development takings - including that in Western Seafood - are undertaken as part of some sort of plan.

I am concerned (and that's understatement) that all it takes now to trample the rights of the people is an officially-sanctioned plan. Habeas corpus, private property, rights enumerated and unenumerated: all are worth little if a bureaucrat has a plan to fix a problem.