More: Some may object as follows: Musk owns Starlink. Doesn't he have the right to do what he wants with a business he owns?
No.
Yes, America has a market economy. And to make this economy work, we need to respect property rights. But we are, first and foremost, a democracy. And in a democracy, the rights of private property don't and never have included the right to act against the nation's interest " where democratically elected representatives of the people, not business owners, should decide what is in the nation's interest. Capitalism is not an excuse for treason.
Let's look at a hypothetical case. Taiwan's air force flies F16s made by Lockheed Martin. Imagine that for some reason " perhaps as part of a business deal with China " Lockheed Martin suddenly moved to degrade Taiwan's military capability by cutting off access to spare parts, upgrades, munitions, computer networks and more. Would anyone consider such action acceptable, a legitimate exercise of property rights? Surely not. There would be immediate demands that Lockheed Martin reverse its actions " and if it refused, the federal government would step in to temporarily take control of the company.
This has actually happened in the past.
U.S. mobilization during World War II relied overwhelmingly on private contractors. But these contractors weren't free to do as they pleased. Among other things, the federal government was anxious to avoid labor conflict that might impede the war effort. So the National War Labor Board negotiated mandatory settlements between management and workers.
Some businessmen didn't want to go along. In particular, Sewell Avery, the chairman of Montgomery Ward, simply refused to comply with the terms of collective bargaining agreements that had been hammered out with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
At the time, Montgomery Ward was both a major retailer and a major manufacturer, whose production of tractors, auto parts and more were important parts of the war effort. But Avery placed a higher priority on resisting unionization than on defeating the Nazis.
So in April 1944 FDR ordered the Army National Guard to seize Montgomery Ward's main plant in Chicago. National Guard troops literally had to carry Avery out of his office.
Later that year the federal government also seized a number of other Montgomery Ward facilities.
It's important to realize that none of these actions were attempts to impose long-term government control of the economy. There was never an intent to permanently nationalize Montgomery Ward. But the principle was clear: private individuals do not have the right to undermine national security. And if temporary nationalization is the only way to stop them from doing so, so be it.
