Propertarianism
Encyclopedia
The term propertarianism has been used to describe various views regarding private property
. Those holding positive views on property rights may be described as propertarian. Conversely, others opposed to private property may be described as non-propertarian or anti-propertarian.
used it in 1973 lectures to apply to "characteristic values of American history" in regard to property. Hans Morgenthau used it in a more limited way to characterize the connection between property and suffrage.
L. Neil Smith
describes propertarianism as a positive libertarian
philosophy in his novels The Probability Broach
(1980) and The American Zone (2002).
Ronald Hamowy describes Murray Rothbard
's form of libertarianism
as "propertarian" because he "reduced all human rights to rights of property, beginning with the natural right of self-ownership." Rothbardian libertarian anarchism or anarcho-capitalism
advocate that property only may originate by being the product of labor, and may then only legitimately change hands by trade or gift. They term this as "neo-Lockean". Other libertarians question the self-ownership view on the grounds people can't be property, even of themselves, and that by ignoring the psychological aspects of being, the viewpoint downplays the concept that "liberty defined by self-determination is the control of choice in human life and development."
David Boaz
writes that the "propertarian approach to privacy," both morally and legally, has ensured Americans' privacy rights.
used the term in the science fiction
novel The Dispossessed
(1974) to contrast a society based on property rights in contrast to one which does not recognize them. She used it in a negative sense because she believed property objectified human beings. She has been described as an anarcho-communist.
Non-propertarians like Murray Bookchin
also have been called anti-propertarians. Bookchin described three concepts of possession: property itself, possession, and usufruct
, appropriation of resources by virtue of use.
laws. The "Indymedia experiment
" has been described as opposition to "propertarian information control" by anarchist-oriented opponents of "corporativism."
Those with non-propertarian ideas have developed open systems like Linux
and alternative methods of musical and other creative distribution.
Libertarians
who generally support property rights may be non-propertarian in relation to intellectual property. John Markoff, in What the Dormouse Said: How the 60s Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry contrasts "information propertarians" - who want strict enforcement of copyright law in relation to use of the internet - with "information libertarians" who have a more flexible view of such intellectual property rights. However, his approach has been criticized as being out of date for ending its analysis in the mid-1970s.
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
. Those holding positive views on property rights may be described as propertarian. Conversely, others opposed to private property may be described as non-propertarian or anti-propertarian.
Propertarianism
Historian Marcus CunliffeMarcus Cunliffe
Marcus Cunliffe was a British scholar who specialized in American Studies, especially military and cultural history. Cunliffe stressed the powerful influence of Americans' cultural beliefs about their own natural military capacity, reinforced by a latent dislike of military professionals, on the...
used it in 1973 lectures to apply to "characteristic values of American history" in regard to property. Hans Morgenthau used it in a more limited way to characterize the connection between property and suffrage.
L. Neil Smith
L. Neil Smith
L. Neil Smith , also known to readers and fans as El Neil, is a libertarian science fiction author and political activist. He was born on May 12, 1946 in Denver...
describes propertarianism as a positive libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
philosophy in his novels The Probability Broach
The Probability Broach
The Probability Broach is the first novel by science fiction writer L. Neil Smith. It is set in an alternate history, the so-called Gallatin Universe, where a libertarian society has formed on the North American continent, styled the North American Confederacy.-Plot summary:Edward William "Win"...
(1980) and The American Zone (2002).
Ronald Hamowy describes Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
's form of libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
as "propertarian" because he "reduced all human rights to rights of property, beginning with the natural right of self-ownership." Rothbardian libertarian anarchism or anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
advocate that property only may originate by being the product of labor, and may then only legitimately change hands by trade or gift. They term this as "neo-Lockean". Other libertarians question the self-ownership view on the grounds people can't be property, even of themselves, and that by ignoring the psychological aspects of being, the viewpoint downplays the concept that "liberty defined by self-determination is the control of choice in human life and development."
David Boaz
David Boaz
David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank. He played a key role in the Institute's development and the American libertarian movement....
writes that the "propertarian approach to privacy," both morally and legally, has ensured Americans' privacy rights.
Non- or anti-propertarianism
Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
used the term in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel The Dispossessed
The Dispossessed
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia is a 1974 utopian science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set in the same fictional universe as that of The Left Hand of Darkness . The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974, both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1975, and received a nomination for...
(1974) to contrast a society based on property rights in contrast to one which does not recognize them. She used it in a negative sense because she believed property objectified human beings. She has been described as an anarcho-communist.
Non-propertarians like Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin was an American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher. A pioneer in the ecology movement, Bookchin was the founder of the social ecology movement within anarchist, libertarian socialist and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books on politics,...
also have been called anti-propertarians. Bookchin described three concepts of possession: property itself, possession, and usufruct
Usufruct
Usufruct is the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that either belongs to another person or which is under common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed...
, appropriation of resources by virtue of use.
In relation to copyright laws
Non-propertarians and anarchists claim freedom of expression is not possible without abolition of intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
laws. The "Indymedia experiment
Independent Media Center
The Independent Media Center is a global participatory network of journalists that report on political and social issues. It originated during the Seattle anti-WTO protests worldwide in 1999 and remains closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its...
" has been described as opposition to "propertarian information control" by anarchist-oriented opponents of "corporativism."
Those with non-propertarian ideas have developed open systems like Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and alternative methods of musical and other creative distribution.
Libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
who generally support property rights may be non-propertarian in relation to intellectual property. John Markoff, in What the Dormouse Said: How the 60s Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry contrasts "information propertarians" - who want strict enforcement of copyright law in relation to use of the internet - with "information libertarians" who have a more flexible view of such intellectual property rights. However, his approach has been criticized as being out of date for ending its analysis in the mid-1970s.
See also
- Anarcho-capitalismAnarcho-capitalismAnarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
- AgorismAgorismAgorism is a political philosophy founded by Samuel Edward Konkin III and developed with contributions by J. Neil Schulman that holds as its ultimate goal bringing about a society in which all "relations between people are voluntary exchanges – a free market." The term comes from the Greek...
- CapitalismCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
- Market anarchismMarket anarchismFree-market anarchism refers to an individualist anarchist philosophy in which monopoly of force held by government would be replaced by a competitive market of non-monopolistic organizations providing security, justice, and other defense services...
- PrivatizationPrivatizationPrivatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
- PrivatismPrivatismPrivatism is a generic term describing any belief that people have a right to the private ownership of certain things. There are many degrees of privatism, from the advocacy of limited private property over specific kinds of items to the advocacy of unrestricted private property over everything;...