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6 - Public Ownership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2024

Avihay Dorfman
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
Alon Harel
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

This chapter addresses the questions of what public property is and why it matters. The key to defending public property lies in disambiguating the sense in which this system of rights with respect to external resources is public and, ultimately, about our property. Public property can be said to be ours in the sense that we can freely use it. On this view, held by lawyer economists, democratic egalitarians, and some Kantians, public property is akin to easement rights to enter and use a resource without the leave of its owner. The chapter criticizes proponents of the easement conception, arguing that they cannot but fail to explain why the “publicness” of the resource matters. It demonstrates that easement-like rights are fully consistent with a system of private property.

Instead, the chapter argues that public property’s distinctive value lies in control, rather than use, rights. Public property is ours in the sense that we are entitled to control it. That is, it extends autonomous agency to the construction of public spaces and resources. Public property places individuals in a position of collective self-government, manifested in the following two particular ways: First, expressing the ideas and commitments that the political community as a whole affirms; and second, exerting control over the construction and direction of the resources that make up the environment the individuals occupy.

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Reclaiming the Public , pp. 149 - 170
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Public Ownership
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.007
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Public Ownership
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Public Ownership
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.007
Available formats
×