Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Widespread Historical Fraud Objection to the Locke/Nozick Account of Original Appropriation

The question of whether external resources, including land, can be justly acquired in the first instance remains a highly controversial subject in political philosophy. The reason for this is that the possibility of appropriating natural assets in a morally unobjectionable fashion is an essential part of the larger narrative that justifies the institution of private property for those who follow in the tradition of Locke, including most particularly Robert Nozick. On this account, a just claim to natural resources is established when an individual invests his/her time and labor improving the asset in some substantial way, and other persons are not disadvantaged in the process, either because there remain other equally good resources available for appropriation or because of the general benefits gained from the institution of private property. Continue Reading »

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