In the News
The New York Times’ The Opinions podcast gave a platform last week to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to build a moral case for petty theft, coining the term “microlooting” for what they framed as political protest against corporations. Piker was direct: “I’m pro stealing from big corporations, because they steal quite a bit more from their own workers.”
Here’s Our Take
As a former prosecutor, victim of vehicle theft, and person with common sense, I’ve seen firsthand what property crime does to individuals and communities. Behind every theft are real victims, both direct and indirect: a store owner absorbing the loss, an employee whose hours just got cut, and a future customer paying more at checkout. Theft drives up prices, kills jobs, and shuts down struggling businesses, hurting local neighborhoods. And that’s before accounting for the thief himself, who, in choosing criminality over honest work, trades the chance to build real skills, value, and a stake in their community for a life of self-destruction and shame.
Piker frames his argument as justice, but real justice requires accounting for the actual victims in the equation. Theft harms real people and communities, not corporations. Property rights are the guarantee that what you earn, own, and build can’t be taken by those who decide redistribution is justified. Those who cheer for looting corporations rarely consider that the same rights protecting corporate property protect their own.
Closing
Piker has millions of young followers. If they buy what he’s selling, they and their communities will pay the price. Libertas Institute exists to defend freedom, promote justice, and strengthen communities. That means standing firmly for property rights and the rule of law.
