Is there such a thing, and if so, where do we draw the line?
Is what’s mine, mine, and what’s yours, yours?
Or is what’s mine yours, and what’s yours mine?
Or is what’s mine, mine, and what’s yours mine, or the other way around?
Are children the slaves of their parents, or vice versa?
Are husbands/wives mutually enslaved?
Is the borrower a slave to the lender?
Is the prisoner a slave of the state…are we all slaves of the state?
Where does property come from, is it a social construct, or is it instinctive, like how some animals will mark their territory, or is there an absolute, objective, universal law that determines what, or who belongs to who?
Is it as simple as two and two equals four, that certain people own certain things, or is it arbitrary and complicated?
Myself I think property is almost entirely subjective.
If there’s anything objective about it, it’s this: animals will try to keep or take a thing they want from others, and have developed ways of warning others not to mess with what they have or want, like marking their territory or growling.
The stronger, slyer and also the luckier an animal is, and the more he wants a thing, the more likely he’ll be able to keep or take it from another.
Manimals also mark their territory and growl, but occasionally we’re a little more sophisticated about it, because we have language, we’ll write our names on things, we’ll warn people: private property, no trespassing!
We’ll put fences, moats and walls around things, arm ourselves to the teeth or hire guards, but it’s essentially the same behavior our furry fellows display.
But whether it’s socially conditioned, or instinctive, or compassion we have for people, or a sense of fairness we have, we as individuals and a society have developed reasons for why we feel or think certain things belong to certain people, whether these people can keep or take them on their own, or whether they need help.
What are some of these things, how do we determine who or what belongs to whom?