Che Guevara T-shirts are a Sign of Strong Property Rights

Property rights have often been at the centre of revolutionary demands, and have long been recognizable features of free governments around the world.

Watching the coverage of protests and uprisings in the Middle East, I have yet to see anyone in the crowds waving an image of Che Guevara. I did say Guevara, instead of invoking more geographically-correct regional revolutionaries such as Abu Nidal or Yasser Arafat, both Palestinian heroes.

While many may not recognize the other two, most people recognize the iconic picture of Guevara, even though he has been dead for nearly 45 years. He was the charismatic Argentine revolutionary and famed sidekick to Fidel Castro. Following their 1959 Cuban victory, Guevara set out to export (surplus) revolution to other impoverished countries. After failing in Africa, he died trying to duplicate the Cuban experience in Bolivia. An image of him soon became an icon for revolution all over the world, even displayed by demonstrators during the 1979 Iranian…