Do we really own anything?
On Ownership
Do we really own anything? That depends on what ownership means.
To me, ownership is our ability to influence how “things” are used. The “thing” could be money, some object like a house or a car, and in some cases, even other people (and no we don’t need slavery to “own” other people).
What gives us the right to own something? There is a clue in the question; the word “right”. Ownership is almost always implied by law. It is the law that says we can own some things but not other things.
Who determines the law? We determine the law. But while all people are equal in the eyes of the law, some people are more equal that others, when defining and determining the law.
One’s ability to influence other people and organizations determines one’s ability to influence the legislation of laws, execution, and judgement. (For lack of a better word) Let’s call this influence power. Hence, power influences law.
From where does power come? To a large extent from ownership. The more things you own, the more power you have to influence.
And so we’ve come full circle. Ownership from Law. Law from Power. Power from Ownership.
It is tempting to think of this chain as a “causal” chain, where ownership “causes” power and so on. But they are more like a set of factors that must necessarily co-exist. No factor can exist without the other two.
While I used “chain”, “thread” is probably a better metaphor; because the whole system is extremely fragile. And so is ownership, as are power and law. Disappear one, and the others disappear.
So, do we really own anything outside this system of Ownership, Law and Power?
As far as I can see, no. Not really. Not even our bodies. Or even our minds.
We don’t really own anything.
