Hegel on Private Property: A Contextual Reading. Issue 3 (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Duncan, Samuel
• Is Part Of: Southern journal of philosophy. Volume 55:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 263
• Page End: 284
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: 105
• DOI: 10.1111/sjp.12238
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-4283

Abstract

Abstract: Hegel is often read as defending private property and property rights on the basis of the so‐called "developmental thesis, " which holds that the institution of private property is a necessary condition for individuals to develop the basic capabilities required for free choice. In this paper, I challenge the developmental thesis, and present my own interpretation of Hegel's justification of private property and theory of property rights. Reconstructing Hegel's theory requires that we read the Philosophy of Right as a whole and consider the role of property within the context of the political system that Hegel sketches there, rather than merely looking at the Property subsection of the work in isolation, as works that argue for the developmental thesis tend to do.