Ownership as a Universal Right

Ownership represented by a magic scroll

Ownership determines who benefits from an asset. The asset is deemed to be in the possession of its owner. Ownership itself is established through a legal record that recognizes the ownership of physical assets. In other words, the ownership of physical assets is identified by a concept—namely, ownership—that is stored in some form of physical item. Through this process, the right of ownership is conjured into existence and inscribed on something as simple as a piece of paper, which then becomes like a kind of magic scroll.

This indirect ownership, mediated through a concept rather than through direct physical possession, is extremely powerful because it allows the possibility that someone can “own” far more than they can physically hold. It is this idea of ownership that lies at the very core of many of the world's problems.

From an economic perspective, this concept allows for the accumulation of income-producing assets, which concentrates most of the flow of income and investment in the hands of a few. This leads to the transfer of wealth from the majority of society to a small group that holds ownership rights over most assets.

From a social standpoint, this transfer of wealth keeps most of the world poor and increasingly so, as the flow of wealth continues to concentrate among fewer and fewer individuals. Eventually, it could become so severe that society might collapse, much as a star implodes into a supernova. The poverty resulting from this economic system causes all kinds of social and psychological issues within society.

Virtually all the biological, psychological, and sociological problems we face in society stem from the poverty caused by the concentration of property in the hands of a few. Under poverty, people struggle to survive. Income is necessary to access the essentials of life in society. Without sufficient income, people cannot survive. In the worst cases, they become homeless, but even most housed individuals also face survival struggles.

Most people worldwide have to work long hours just to barely survive, and as income concentrates at the top, inequality intensifies. This causes significant stress, fear, anxiety, and resentment within society. It is highly psychologically and socially corrosive. Additionally, it impacts people’s physical health. Lack of food or water, or access to contaminated or poor-quality food and water, leads to health issues. Limited access to healthcare also results in health, psychological, and sociological problems.

Finally, from an ecological perspective, the accumulation of power and wealth enabled by private property leads to environmental destruction. The separation of ownership from physical possession blinds owners to the consequences of their decisions regarding their property. This is an essential aspect of private property, allowing owners to absolve themselves of liability for the consequences of their actions.

The owner of a factory doesn’t need to worry about the pollution that their factory produces. They are legally and personally protected from its adverse effects. The owners prioritize increasing their power and wealth above all else. This has led us to an economy that constantly grows and consumes all the natural world in the pursuit of more abstract forms of wealth, symbolized by an increasingly meaningless currency. As wealth becomes concentrated, economic activity stalls, causing the currency to gradually lose its ability to serve as a means of exchange, and with that loss, it also diminishes in real value over time.

Ultimately, we need to completely rethink the idea of ownership. We should make ownership more tangible, establishing a direct link between the owner and the property. This can be achieved by making ownership both more physical and local. Returning to the example of the factory, the pollution didn’t impact the absentee owners, but it did affect the workers, who not only work at the factory but also live in the community impacted by the pollution. If the workers owned the factory, they wouldn’t pollute the community or destroy their environment. By owning the factory, they would also retain the wealth generated through their labour, rather than having it taken by absentee owners. This, in turn, would help eliminate poverty and address the biological, psychological, sociological, and ecological issues facing society.