Gregory S. Alexander

Slim book that nonetheless comprehensively does what it says on the tin, with introductions to utilitarian, Lockean, Hegelian, and Aristotlean/flourishing-based theories of property rights, then chapters addressing several major issues from each perspective, including takings and intellectual property. The criticisms of Nozick et al. are particularly compelling (from my perspective), but they also make some good points about the property-as-exclusion-right theorists and Henry Smith’s “property isn’t a bundle of sticks” account that says that property rights simplify understanding of one’s rights with respect to objects. As they point out, with respect to property that the owner has opened to the general public, “it is far from clear that unfettered exclusion rights make the world an easier place to navigate for nonowners… In the pre-civil-rights-era South, that message might have been: If you are white, come in and browse, shop, sit down, and eat; if you are African American, come in, shop, order food at our lunch counter, but do not sit down to eat or interact with white customers. In the modern shopping center, the message might be: Come in, browse, walk around, sit down, eat, perhaps even participate in an aerobics class or watch school children put on a show, but do not engage in political speech, no matter how orderly.” If you wanted an intro to the big debates in property theory, this would be a good one.… (altro)