New Essays in the Legal and Political Theory of Property (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law)

Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 10/4/2001
EAN 9780521640015, ISBN10: 0521640016

Hardcover, 224 pages, 24.1 x 15.9 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

There has always been much controversy surrounding property rights in legal and political philosophy. Thinkers such as Plato, Locke, Kant, Hegel and Marx have all offered different views on the idea of property. This collection of essays, written by some of the most eminent scholars in the field, examines the most central issues of property theory from a variety of perspectives. The essays discuss whether property may be dissipated or used imprudently with impunity, and analyse how a person's property should be distributed after death. They survey the economic landscape of intellectual property and show that Locke's celebrated justification for private property falters when it comes to copyrights and patents. They also demonstrate how important it is that institutions of property be carefully justified. The variety and originality of these essays are evidence that the theory of property is one of the most exciting areas of intellectual inquiry in the humanities and social sciences.

Contributors
Preface and acknowledgements
Introduction Stephen R. Munzer
1. Property, honesty and normative resilience Jeremy Waldron
2. Property as social relations Stephen R. Munzer
3. Must we have the right to waste? Edward J. McCaffery
4. Inheritance and the justice tribunal J. W. Harris
5. Lockean arguments for private intellectual property Seana Valentine Shiffrin
6. Theories of intellectual property William Fisher
Table of cases
Index of names
Index of subjects.