Chapter Info (Click Here)
Book No. – 002 (Political Science)
Book Name – Political Theory (Rajeev Bhargava)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE EXTENT AND LIMITS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS
3. THE CONCEPT OF PROPERTY IN POLITICAL THEORY
4. PROPERTY IN ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
5. MODERNITY AND THE CONCEPT OF PROPERTY
5.1. John Locke on Property
5.2. The Utilitarian Justification of Private Property
5.3. Karl Marx’s Critique of Private Property
6. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE 20TH CENTURY: SOCIALISM, WELFARISM. LIBERTARIANISM
6.1. Robert Nozick’s Entitlement Defence of Private Property
7. GENDER AND PROPERTY RIGHTS: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON THE CONCEPT OF PROPERTY
Note: The first chapter of every book is free.
Access this chapter with any subscription below:
- Half Yearly Plan (All Subject)
- Annual Plan (All Subject)
- Political Science (Single Subject)
- CUET PG + Political Science
Property
Chapter – 13
INTRODUCTION
- The meaning of the concept of property is not constant and has evolved over time according to the institution of property and the ways different societies evaluate its uses.
- In its broadest sense, property refers to exclusive ownership of a thing or objects of value.
- Practices of property differ from one society to another.
- Property can refer to things themselves, such as land, a house, or a car, but more often refers to a legal claim over things.
- Property represents a legal relation between persons with respect to specific things, whether material (e.g., land) or abstract (e.g., copyright).
- The institution of property requires legal authority to enforce it as a legitimate claim.
- An example of property is when a person owns an item (e.g., a bag) that they lose; the bag is still their property as long as they can legally claim it.
- Property is not just about possession; it involves legitimate entitlement to possess and use things.
- Property is relational and only exists in a legally organized community of people.
- Private property is one of the various forms of property and refers to ownership by an individual, family, corporation, or group, excluding others from its use, consumption, or enjoyment.
- Private property rights grant the owner exclusive power to decide what will happen to the owned thing or resource.
- Common property refers to property that is shared by many people, such as a community or village, where access and utility are not limited to one individual.
- Public or state property refers to property controlled by the state for public purposes, such as transport, railways, historical monuments, and public parks.
THE EXTENT AND LIMITS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS
- Legal recognition is necessary for the institution of property, which is acknowledged as property rights or the right of ownership.
- Property rights are not absolute; there are restrictions on the use of property.
- For example, you may not be allowed to blow the horn of your car near a hospital, even though the car is your property.
- Legal systems impose restrictions on property rights to protect the rights and freedoms of others.
- Robert Nozick (1974: 171) provides an example: ‘My property rights in my knife allow me to leave it where I will, but not in your chest.’
- The extent of ownership rights depends on their definition by a given legal system.
- Commonly recognized elements of ownership include:
- Right to possess
- Right to use
- Right to transfer
- Right to bequeath
- Right to exclude others
- Right to manage
- Right to income and capital from one’s property.