- published: 05 Mar 2016
- views: 1379
Ownership of property may be private, collective, or common and the property may be objects, land/real estate or intellectual property. Determining ownership in law involves determining who has certain rights and duties over the property. These rights and duties, sometimes called a 'bundle of rights', can be separated and held by different parties.
The question of ownership reaches back to the ancient philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, who held different opinions on the subject. Plato (428/427BC-348/347BC) thought private property created divisive inequalities, while Aristotle (384BC-322BC) thought private property enabled people to receive the full benefit of their labor. Private property also circumvents what is now referred to as the “tragedy of the commons” problem, where people tend to degrade common property more than they do private property. While Aristotle justified the existence of private ownership, he left open questions of (1) how to allocate property between what is private and common and (2) how to allocate the private property within society.