The Concept of Property in Kant, Fichte, and Hegel: Freedom, Right, and Recognition [Paperback]

Introduction: Property in Legal Philosophy? ?1. Kants Metaphysics of Property? 2. Fichtes Recognition of Property? ?3. Hegels Struggle for Property? ?Conclusion: The Social Pathologies of Property

This book provides a detailed account of the role of property in German Idealism. It puts the concept of property in the center of the philosophical systems of Kant, Fichte, and Hegel and shows how property remains tied to their conceptions of freedom, right, and recognition.

How is it possible that anything can be understood as mine or yours at all? Challenging the dominant frameworks of legalism and economism in our attempts to understand and justify property, Jacob Blumenfeld persuasively argues that turning to the underappreciated tradition of classical German Rechtsphilosophie provides invaluable resources for understanding the metaphysical, normative, social, and material conditions of property relations. What results from Blumenfelds expert and clear reconstructions of Kant, Fichte, and Hegel is the following: property relations mediate the complicated, conflictual, and ethically charged relation between practical freedom and social necessity. The question of what makes something mine is ultimately the question of how needy, dependent beings can live together as a free community of equals, a possibility that is fundamentally connected with how we understand the property relation. An important and timely contribution, Blumenfeld shows that turning to classical German philosophy may well prove to be indispensable for resolving some of the most pressing problems of the twenty-first century.

Karen Ng, Vanderbilt University

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Jacob Blumenfelds new work makes a vital contribution to contemporary political philosophy and not just its history. Blumenfelds strinl³3