Handout Massaro, Section 5 (Property Ownership in Modern Society: Rights and Responsibilities

Property is a general term for rules governing access to and control of land and other material resources. Because these rules are disputed, both in regard to their general shape and in regard to their particular application, there are interesting philosophical issues about the justification of property. Modern philosophical discussions focus mostly on the issue of the justification of private property rights as opposed to common or collective property. Private property refers to a kind of system that allows a particular object like a piece of land to particular individuals to use and manage as they please, to the exclusion of others. Though these exclusions make the idea of private property seem problematic, philosophers have often argued that it is necessary for the ethical development of the individual, or for the creation of a social environment in which people can prosper as free and responsible agents. I thought the comparison about a mortgage was very helpful because that's something I can understand and relate to.