Future Generations, Natural Resources, and Property Rights
Author(s)
Brock, Gillian
Abstract
In a recent article, “Contemporary Property Rights, Lockean Provisos, and the Interests of Future Generations,” Clark Wolf argues that sometimes the interests of future generations should take precedence over the claims of current property rights holders. Wolf’s arguments concentrate on the genesis and nature of defensible property rights in various natural resources, and on the conditions under which morally unacceptable harm is caused to others. In this paper Brock explores two central sets of issues. First, she investigates how the argument holds up when labor is involved in discovering, developing or preparing natural resources for appropriation. She considers some persuasive reasons why one might think Wolf’s arguments lose force in such cases. She also indicates how to accommodate these concerns without diminishing the force of Wolf’s main arguments. Second, she shows how either the examples Wolf uses do not support the conclusion he is pressing, or the argument has extremely far-reaching implications.
