preview

What Is The Bundle Of Stick Metaphors

Decent Essays

The ‘bundle of sticks’ metaphor has been utilised for years as a common way to explain the complexities of property ownership in land law. This metaphorical concept was first introduced by Hohfeld, and developed further by numerous realists. In this essay I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of the metaphor as an intellectual construct and academic device and moreover, I will emphasize the metaphor’s deficiencies.
Despite acknowledging that Hohfeld did not originally create the metaphor or even use the term ‘bundle of sticks,’ his conceptual analysis of property rights in terms of legal relations led to the development of the ideas that property is made up of not things, but instead composed of legal relationships. It equally …show more content…

Moreover, by using the metaphorical bundle to explain that aspect of property law teaches the individual of the importance of precision; meaning that one must recognise the subtle distinctions between interests that may perform essentially the same social function. In a more fundamental sense, the bundle of sticks metaphor also encourages conceptual thinking regarding the nature of property. It aids the individual in understanding that property is not a monolith but rather it encompasses an array of complex and contextual relationships. Once the following has been comprehended, the person can then become familiarised with applying that principle to the microcosm of estates. Hence, the same idea can similarly be transferred to the macrocosm of property law in general. The metaphor thus helps a person understand that what legal academics imply by the use of the term "property" differs substantially from the definition used in the non-legal sense. As this knowledge is essential in a world in which wealth is increasingly measured in sophisticated, intangible financial arrangements, the bundle of sticks metaphor plays a vital role in the training of aspiring

Get Access