Property and its Enemies, Part I: “Design Faults” in Locke’s Theory of Property Taint Ownership with Guilt
Author(s)
De Jasay, Anthony
Abstract
In this article Jasay begins a three-part series on the nature of property rights and its critics. He begins with an analysis of the 17th century English political philosopher, John Locke, whose ideas on property as a natural right of mankind was one of the guiding principles of the American Revolution. But as Jasay notes, paradoxically, Locke’s theory of property contains a “proviso” which has been seized upon by many critics in order to undermine the very idea of a natural right to private property. What then is left of Lockean theories of property rights? In his essay, Jasay raises a very important point concerning the cost of making new discoveries. He argues that “every new discovery will raise the probable finding cost of the next comparable discovery”. Does an increasing body of knowledge decrease or increase the cost of making new discoveries? This issue remains to be explored in detail.
