Description
Book SynopsisCan the right to private property be claimed as one of the `rights of mankind''? This is the central question of this comprehensive and critical examination of the subject of private property. Jeremy Waldron contrasts two types of arguments about rights: those based on historical entitlement, and those based on the importance of property to freedom. He provides a detailed discussion of the theories of property found in Locke''s Second Treatise and Hegel''s Philosophy of Right to illustrate this contrast. The book contains original analyses of the concept of ownership, the ideas of rights, and the relation between property and equality. The author''s overriding determination throughout is to follow through the arguments and values used to justify private ownership. He finds that the traditional arguments about property yield some surprisingly radical conclusions.
Trade Review`A thoughtful and meticulous book ... consistently intelligent and often highly instructive.' Times Literary Supplement
`an exceptionally clear and useful account ... Waldron's book demonstrates where an effort to take "the right to private property" seriously ought to lead.' Times Higher Education Supplement
`scholarly book' Robert Oakeshott, Political Quarterly, 61.3 July-Sept 1990
`His extensive discussion of Locke will not disappoint ... immensely rich. Highly recommended for all university and college libraries' Religious Studies Review
`lucid and authoritative book ... A book like this is intended to be the beginning, not the end, of thinking about the subject it covers.' Constitutional Commentary
`thoughtful, tightly reasoned book ... a very clear and extraordinarily sophisticated analysis of property rights.' Michigan Law Review
`we should be grateful for the wealth of intelligent and insightful analyses in this big book' Dialogue
`The great merit of Waldron's study is that it brings a high-powered and unforgiving microscope to one argument: that there is a right to private property ... Because the study of the right to property can lead in so many directions, and because Waldron is aware of them, this is a major contribution to contemporary political theory.' Political Studies
Table of ContentsPart 1: The Framework: Introduction; What is private property?; Right-based arguments; Special rights and general rights; Part II: The arguments: Arguing for property; Locke's discussion of property; Historical entitlement: some difficulties; General-right-based arguments for private property; The Proudhon Strategy; Hegel's discussion of property; Self-ownership and the opportunity to appropriate; Property for all; Bibliography; Index
