[webstersII]

"Put another way: Who may harm whom in what ways?"

My neighbor has a car with a loud muffler which he thinks sounds really cool. It wakes me up late at night (along with other neighbors).

Whose rights should be protected here? My right to reasonable expectation of a quiet neighborhood at night or his right to have his car sound 'cool'?

[CSM]

The rest of the paragraph I quoted from the article says:

"In a nutshell, private property rights have to do with rights held by an owner to keep, acquire and use property in ways so long as he doesn't interfere with similar rights held by another. Private property rights also include the right to exclude others from use of property."

Does that clear it up for you?

[dcwusmc]

He has the right to have his car sound as "cool" as he wants, just so long as the noise does NOT penetrate YOUR house or anyone ELSE's house. Where rights may conflict, the right to be left alone on YOUR property reigns supreme.

[stainlessbanner]

Bracing for the ammendment that outlaws cherry bombs.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Whose rights should be protected here? My right to reasonable expectation of a quiet neighborhood at night or his right to have his car sound 'cool'?

The former, of course.