A critique of ownership : normative property theory with regard to habitual modes of thought and arbitrary privilege

Abstract

This paper explores the idea of property, the main concern being with its theoretical basis, not its legal superstructure. Addressing the justifications for 'liberal' or 'full' ownership rights in contemporary society, this paper looks at what those ownership rights entail, what arguments are given in their support and what interests they serve. But attention is also given to what is assumed to be true when such justifications are embraced and such conceptions upheld. The reader is invited to consider matters that are easily taken for granted and to examine, or re-examine, the content of some common sense intuitions. It is critical to the understanding of property that 'feelings' are not necessarily considered perceptions of truth and that intellectual assumptions might exist as a consequence of socialisation and not necessarily because of their intrinsic moral charm. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not any ideas about property contain elements of arbitrariness. Or, more to the point, to determine whether or not the existence of such arbitrariness could maintain relationships between members of society that are unjust. An attempt is made to show how and why certain aspects of 'full' ownership are controversial and can be challenged. This is deemed an important exercise because how people think about the problems of property will undoubtedly affect the nature or existence of the path that leads to their solution. The primary objective then is to illustrate the nature of liberal ownership rights and to rouse a reflection on whether the arguments that advocate and protect liberal ownership rights are sound. The investigation begins by taking a preliminary look at the concept of property in general and what it means (in a democracy) to say property is held as a 'right'. The paper then proceeds to review the philosophic foundations of property, an exercise intended to provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent proposals of how property rights can be refined to better accommodate the ethical presuppositions of liberalism. The final chapter considers the ideas of Employee Stock Ownership Plans, wealth taxes and inheritance and bequest laws in an attempt to combine what right permits and what interest prescribes. This exploration addresses what should be the mode of administering property in society after the law and theory upon which it was founded has functioned to concentrate it into the hands of a few. But this is no woe-filled leftist litany about the alleged shortcomings of capitalism. It is a reasoned attempt to demonstrate why certain conceptual tensions have become real-world tensions and how they can be ameliorated. While it is largely philosophical in substance, it is hoped that its practical stamp will be evident.