Jurisprudence: The Concept of Property*

Description:

Most legal systems in the world recognize private property rights: the legal right of an individual to use and exploit resources to the exclusion of others. In this course, we will examine leading theoretical justifications for the recognition of property rights. We will also examine the way in which philosophical debates about property shape and influence legal debates in a variety of property contexts, including slavery, regulatory takings, homelessness, intellectual property, and native American land claims. Texts by, among others, Aristotle, Kant, Rawls, Marx, Hume, Bentham, Dworkin, Michelman, Madison, Epstein, Radin, Shklar, Waldron, Cohen, and Sandel. Evaluation by exam.

*Typically offered every other year