Personal Property Ethics

Most people assume the American dream is about achieving the nostalgic ideal of 1950s family life—Dad in charge of the household, Mom always looking pretty, and their children happily obedient and affectionate. The belief that success means living in a suburban home with a nuclear family causes many Americans to disparage any lifestyle that departs from this false image of family life. In truth, the suburbs are full of dysfunctional families and overdeveloped housing tracts. Many people in America cannot afford to buy a home, and most families do not fit the fifties-era ideal. Nonetheless, the media and advertisers continue to promote the delusion of the American dream, and consumers continue to spend their money in hope of achieving it. However,

Freedom in America and property went hand and hand; without the ownership of property, indivduals were not granted the privilege of living freely. The security of property was recognized as a foundation of freedom in early America. This was so because without property one was viewed poorly, “those who did not control their own lives ought to not have a voice in governing the state. Political freedom required economic independence”. Therefore, freedom was not awarded to those without control of land and subsequently, control over their own lives. Furthermore, the connection between personal liberty and private property ownership paralleled that of the relationship between land control and complete freedom. Personal freedom is defined as, “the ability to make crucial individual choices free from outside coercion”. But without land, people were already viewed as incompetent for individuality, so it would be impossible for one to achieve personal freedom. This does in fact make owning land a prerequisite for personal freedom. In conclusion, there is a direct relationship between land ownership and

The concept of property has long been one of the most crucial aspects for the U.S. citizens, as it is a major part of the Constitutional, and, therefore, human rights. Although the perception and understanding of “property” have been considerably changed, especially in terms of political and philosophical vision, it still has a particular meaning for the Americans. In general, the idea of property is the question of the political thought and conceptualized thinking common for the United States. In most cases, its transformations are connected to the introduction of capitalism and related governmental decision in politics. Therefore, as any other topic, the value of property has undergone harsh debates. In particular, such important figures as James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman have developed a fundamental scope of analyses with regard to the property rights in America.

(p. 105) The property owners are often of the upper class and have control of their life situation. In contrast those who own no property are primarily of the lower-middle classes and have little control over their life situation since they must follow certain societal rules put in place by the ruling class (those with the most property/greatest economic status).

Property: The right to claim and hold property; When it has been laboured for, one encloses it for greater individual profit the profit of the community of Man, it has been laboured for – Natural means of ownership one encloses it – The process of holding legal “deed” for greater individual profit – to build investment equity and avoid poverty of waste the profit of the community of Man – Moral commitment to Human Development (Locke: 1689).

2. What do they consider the relationship between property and

America is seen as the land of opportunity in that there are endless possibilities for an individual. In this land of opportunity, Americans strive to obtain the ideal known as the American dream. The American Dream is seen as the accomplishment of an ambition achieved while challenged by adversity.1 Americans often associate this success with the ownership of a home. The home is not simply a place of basic protection; there is a much deeper connection to the individual. Ownership of a home grants freedom and security that establishes a sense permanency for the individual. In contrast, renting a living space possesses a semblance of instability and dependence.2 The desire to improve ones’ position in life inspires one to

After the independence of America, American dreamers started to strive for wealth because possessing materials was important for them to succeed in their dream. According to John A. Pidgeon, “striving for wealth has become a way for Americans to ease their consciences, while one’s morality is often measured by the ability to acquire material possessions” (Pidgeon 2007). They believed that they could achieve any goals by becoming rich and possessing materials, and believed that the wealth and possession could bring anything they sought.

Owning a home is emblematic of the “American Dream”. Unfortunately for many Americans, especially Millennials who are entering or have entered the job market, the thought of owning a home still remains a dream. Our unstable job market and fragile economy has made this aspect of the “American Dream” quite difficult, and many Millennials are more content with landing their dream job than owning a home. The wealth gap between the rich and the poor has prevented the poor from attaining the Dream since the Dream has always been within the grasp of those well off. In our modern society, the same unfortunately is true.

With the recent development of cottages, the rental business is starting to become more competitive due to baby boomers. The location of any cottage is a key factor to make it stand out from the rest. In Grand Bend, waterfront cottages have limited frontage space due to the large erosion which affects the cottage size (Creces, 2009). As waterfront cottages are more desirable, they can cost up to three times the amount of a second-row cottage. Although, the coastline is the property of the municipality which results in waterfront properties do not own the beach. This means that all second-row cottages have access to the entire coastline of Grand Bend. With larger building sizes and limited restriction, second-row cottages are three times the size of waterfront cottages are becoming more appealing to larger families and groups as these cottages can have upwards of six bedrooms. This trend is starting to become clearer throughout Ontario as waterfront real estate is costly and have many building restrictions.

Human Flourishing theory of property holds that “[t]he moral foundation of property, both as a concept and as an institution, is human flourishing.” The purpose of property is to enable people a foundation to enable people to live an objectively well-lived life, therefore property decisions should be structured around this goal. Under this theory property owners owe obligations to members of their communities to perform certain duties to enable people to have necessary capabilities in order to live well-lived lives, “owners are responsible for the continued well-being of these communities which have nurtured and continue to nurture the development of their personal capabilities essential to their own flourishing.” Furthermore, the government

My views are not so rigid. A life is sacred. Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no person being. It is part of the earth that man walks on; it is not man. 76

Assessment of the Statement that Property is a Power Relationship Between People Property is the right to possess, enjoy or use a determinant thing, and includes the right of excluding others from doing the same. The concept of ownership or property has no single or widely accepted definition. Like any other concept it has great weight in public discourse and the popular usage varies broadly. Property is frequently conceived as a 'bundle of rights and obligations.' Property is stressed as not a relationship between people and things, but a relationship between people with regard to things.

All the three philosophers, whose work I am going to scrutinize on, have very specific, yet in most cases common views on property. First of all, let me define what the term property means. Property, as I see it, is an object of legal rights that is possessed by an individual or a group of individuals who are directly responsible for this it.

An individual who becomes enthralled with the property will eventually want power, becoming vulnerable to a greedy and self-indulgent persona taking over.