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Property Rights

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I was hoping that somebody could either englighten me or direct me to a source which might adress a question I've been pondering. In disputes with a somewhat liberal friend of mind, he has denied that property rights are anything but an arbitrary invention of man. He says claiming property is an act of coercion, and therefore any philosophy which accepts the non-coercion principle cannot accept the idea of private property.

This led me off on a tangent. In the state of nature, how exactly are property rights established? If two people claim the same piece of land, and neither has any prior claim to it, then what is to be done? Do they just fight it out? Should they just "share" and split it down the middle?

I'm sure that Rand addressed the idea of the basis of property rights at some point, but in most of her work their legitimacy is accepted implicitly. A more explicit explanation of her views would be most welcome, and greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

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I'm sure that Rand addressed the idea of the basis of property rights at some point, but in most of her work their legitimacy is accepted implicitly.

I would suggest that you read Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal from cover to cover, as this compilation of articles will give you directly just what you seek. You can find the book in most major bookstores or online sources, or you can order it directly from http://www.aynrandbookstore.com/

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[1] I was hoping that somebody could either englighten me or direct me to a source which might adress a question I've been pondering ...

[2] In the state of nature, how exactly are property rights established? If two people claim the same piece of land, and neither has any prior claim to it, then what is to be done? Do they just fight it out? Should they just "share" and split it down the middle?

1. I suggest you read and digest "Man's Rights" in The Virtue of Selfishness. In this essay, Ayn Rand thoroughly examines the nature and validity of individual rights.

2. A right to a piece of property must be earned. You can't simply say, "I want this piece of land", then it's yours. You must work or use the land in some manner.

In a rational society, if two people want the same unclaimed piece of land, then they might go into a courtroom and debate over the matter, allowing a judge or jury to decide what to do based on the facts. It may be a simple matter of who got to the land first and started working on it.

America used to have the Homestead Act, where citizens could claim a piece of land and the government would recognize their ownership of the land after they had lived and worked on the land for five years.

I think that is a good example of how property rights are established.

Now, if you are trying to claim land in the wild parts of the world, without the backing of an organized government and objective laws, you might have to fight evil people, not only for your valuables, but also your very life.

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In disputes with a somewhat liberal friend of mind, he has denied that property rights are anything but an arbitrary invention of man.

Invention of man? Yes.

Arbitrary? Hardly. They are an objective requirement for our survival based on our fundamental nature. This guy's problem is the typical academic assumption that anything that is an invention of man is automatically subjective and therefore arbitrary. That conclusion is quite a stretch, and you should point that out to him.

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