Natural rights problem

[Undertoad]

In many countries, people live in shantytowns with no permanent dwellings. This is a terrible way to live, with no clean water or sewage control, no permanent marketplace, etc.

It's not all that hard to build roads and sewage pipes and to build the homes to be more permanent. Griff did it, although he had access to a modern westernized society with power tools and such. But the Amish manage without these things. So why don't the folks in Africa?

In some countries the government doesn't respect property rights and will nationalize anything left standing after a stiff wind.

But it's more common for countries to not respect property rights by simply not maintaining them. Without a system of deeds and police to watch over such property, without a system of courts to manage disputes in a systemic manner, the property rights fall apart.

Or so it seems.

I believe there are natural rights, but I wonder about the status of rights that can be taken away from us at a whim... not by governments, but by just anyone. Natural rights can't just die away, but do they become meaningless if they can't be upheld? I have a right to the property that I own, but if it can be stolen easily without reparation, it scarcely matters that I have that right. Eh? If my money is stolen, it's still "my" money but if I have no chance of getting it back and the thief has no chance at punishment, the real live result is that I'm poor -- the rights are nice to have had, but they did nothing.

If the people don't fund the police or government, or if the people/government do not respect property rights and fail to give police the job of maintaining them, ...