A Theory of Property [Paperback]

This argument for the justification of some rights of private property shows why unequal distributions of private property are indefensible as well.This argument for the justification of some rights of private property shows why unequal distributions of private property are indefensible as well.This book represents a major new statement on the issue of property rights. It argues for the justification of some rights of private property while showing why unequal distributions of private property are indefensible.1. Property and justification; Part I. Property Rights and Personal Rights: 2. Understanding property; 3. Persons and their bodies; 4. Body rights and the constitution; Part II. From Individuals to Social Context: 5. Incorporation and projection; 6. Control, privacy and individuality; 7. Property and moral character; 8. Alienation and society; Part III. Justification and Distributive Equity: 9. Utility and efficiency; 10. Justice and equality; 11. Labor and desert; 12. Conflict and resolution; Part IV. Applications: 13. Business corporations; 14. Gratuitous transfers; 15. A moral and political theory of takings; 16. Takings and the constitution; Table of cases; Index of names; Index of subjects. Stephen Munzer has achieved something I had thought impossible, an encyclopedic treatment of the theory of property rights that does justice to almost all the conceptual, legal, political, and social issues at stake...A Theory of Property will be of the greatest interest and value to philosophers, lawyers, political theorists, and economists alike. Its even handed and scrupulous treatment of competing conceptions of the nature and justification of property rights will make the book useful and accessible to readers of all political and intellectual persuasions. It is an object lesson in how to practise intellectual and ethical pluralism without the least sacrifice of rigour and lucidity. Alan Ryan, Princeton University Steeped in the traditions of both Anglo-Ameril“=