Stolen goods!

[mordecai]

Is there a moral basis for a law that makes buying stolen goods punishable?

The idea behind such laws is of course to make it harder for criminals to profit from their crimes. So one could conclude that the intentions are noble.

But how would you go about to morally defend these laws?

Who's rights am I violating by buying these goods?

The way I see it, I can in no way violate anyones rights by buying stolen goods - the responsibility of violating the original owners property right rests solely on the shoulders of the thief. Also, proving that I had, or should have, knowledge that the goods were stolen will be highly speculative and arbitrary.

Is there a difference if:

- I don't know they are stolen, but have suspicions about their origin?

- If I know for sure they are stolen?

- I don't have suspicions, but I should have had?

Please help me untangle this. Am I missing something vital?

(Remember that I fully understand that buying stolen goods is immoral, I ask if there is basis for a law banning it)

[Old Geezer]

The way I see it, I can in no way violate anyones rights by buying stolen goods - the responsibility of violating the original owners property right rests solely on the shoulders of the thief.

You violate the rights of the original owners to recover said property as soon as the thief is tracked down. You have no right to obstruct the carrying forth of justice.

Also, you have no right to knowingly utilize the products of someone elses effort without their consent. You have not explicitly obtained their consent. (for instance, if you find a cell phone on the street, you have no right to run up a big phone bill with it, even though finding it was not wrong)

[DavidV]

Because a thief cannot sell a good that he does not own, the unaware buyer cannot purchase a legitimate title to the good. The true owner retains title to the good no matter how many times it is resold. The grievance of the unwary buyer should be directed against the crook, not the original owner – or to whoever resold it. In other words, if you unknowingly buy a stolen good from a pawnshop, the original owner can still reclaim it at any time, and you should demand your money back from the pawnshop. In fact, you are morally and legally obligated to return the good if you discover that it was stolen.

If you knowingly buy a stolen good, the crime is the same as being an accomplice of any other criminal act. The gravity of the crime depends on the degree to which you knowingly assisted the criminal.