YourDogOwnsYourHouse

Context : OnProperty, FabulousMonstersOfEconomicDebate

Interesting RightLibertarian argument against collectivism :

• http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/Jasaydog.html

Good because it shows genuine understanding of LeftWing claims and makes real attempt to find a logical way past them.

Bad because ... meh ... it just asserts what it purports to argue for. When the bank lends you money to buy the house, its claims to share of the ownership are backed up by the state. If the bricklayers claimed ownership, the state wouldn't. But this is wholly arbitrary. You can't ground the notion of property he wants in a way that isn't ultimately circular. Either it's an arbitrary political decision. Which is what most of us on the left think. Or you end up with some kind of circularity where you presume some "specialness" or "naturalness" of the ownership relation, and THIS is ultimately underpins all claims about the difference between legitimate claims and non-legitimate ones.

Contrast :

• TheAgeOfAccess also finishes with a suggestion that we can rethink "ownership" away from a monolithic relationship, pulling it apart into several strands of rights and responsibilities.