Property - Trouble in Paradise

Responding to the actual OP, I must say first that ‘fairness’ is itself a notion even harder to parse than property. We have multiple, sometimes contradictory notions of fairness and we have to be careful when using it.

I think that fairness would completely undermine a view of property like Locke’s. If we want to take fairness into consideration, being the person that mixed their labour with previously unowned resources is irrelevant to who ought to acquire the new resources. It would go to the ones such that the situation would be the fairest, presumably something like those with the least resources.

I will add that Locke’s theory of property is also based on a different kind of fairness. I don’t think saying that it’s fair for the person who worked hard to obtain something should obtain that very thing is misusing the word ‘fair’. So, we get to the idea that ‘fairness’ is many things that don’t necessarily bode well.

To me, this suggests that we have different values, in particular here, different notions of fairness that we like but we have to, perhaps, prioritize some values over others when they clash if we want a coherent moral theory. And you have to hope that this theory is the “correct” one.

I personally am more inclined towards property à la Locke than something based around whoever needs it most.

Yes, I meant “someone’s stuff” in the legal sense.

I am not saying that. I meant, hypothetically.

What we ought to do and what we ought not to do. How we should act.

Thank you for clarifying.

As I mentioned earlier, there is only One Universal Lore, all other laws are just human-made constructs so that only some benefit.

Sure. And no such thing as a wealthy person. It is just that a ‘wealthy’ person appears to be “wealthy” because others are giving that individual human being “wealth”.

However you want to think about it is how you will think about it.

Uh… yeah, ages. That was the point of the example.

Anyway, I personally find that I see all things from a True perspective.

I mean, what would be the point of seeing things falsely?

1 Like

Sometimes people try to refute my obvious truths.

I don’t know whether to giggle at them or feel sorry for them.

What do you think?