The entrepreneurial theory of ownership
Date
2024-11-05
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Abstract
Käesolevas töös tutvustatakse ettevõtluslikku omanditeooriat – uudset lähenemist omandiõiguste filosoofilisele õigustamisele. Kõnealune lähenemine kuulub laiemasse perekonda, mida tuntakse „ajaloolise õiguse põhiste teooriatena“. Nende vaadete järgi õigustab omandit seos mõne ajaloolise sündmusega, mis hõlmas omanikku ja omatavat eset ning lõi nende vahele moraalse suhte, millest tulenevalt omanik sai ainuõiguse otsustada, kuidas seda eset kasutada – teisisõnu õiguse eraomandile.
Ettevõtlusliku omanditeooria keskne idee on see, et loodusvarad ei ole otsekohe kasutatavad. Enne kui saame neid kasutada, tuleb meil teha mõningast ettevalmistavat mõttetööd – meil tuleb välja selgitada, kuidas mõne konkreetse asja looduslikud omadused võivad aidata meil oma eesmärke saavutada. See töö kujutab endast vastava loodusvara avastamise akti.
Ettevõtluslik omanditeooria on inspireeritud Israel Kirzneri vaadetest ning väidab, et üksikisikutel, kes loodusvarasid avastavad, on õigus neid valitseda, sest ilma nendepoolse sisendita neid varasid sama hästi kui polekski. Teooria näitab, kuidas avastamine mängib põhirolli nii varasema omanikuta ressursside omandamisel kui ka ressursside ühelt omanikult teisele üleandmisel. Nõnda saab omandiõigusi õigustada üheleainsale normatiivsele põhimõttele tuginedes, hoolimata nende päritolust.
Töös arendatakse välja argument ettevõtlusliku omanditeooria kaitseks ning näidatakse, kuidas seda saab rakendada nii eraomandile kui ka ühiskondlikule omandile. Samuti käsitletakse töös kõige tugevamaid varasemaid vastuväiteid ajaloolise õiguse põhistele teooriatele ning näidatakse, kuidas arusaam avastamisest kui omandi põhialusest aitab neid ületada. Viimaks hinnatakse töös seda, millises jõuvahekorras on omanike avastamise aktiga õigustatud moraaliväited ning muud tüüpi moraaliväited.
This work presents the entrepreneurial theory of ownership - a novel approach to philosophical justification of property rights. This approach belongs to a larger family of views known as “theories of historical entitlements”. Under these views, ownership is justified by a reference to a historical event that involved the owner and the object owned and created a moral relationship between them in virtue of which the owner acquired an exclusive right to decide how this object shall be used – the right of private ownership. The central idea of the entrepreneurial theory of ownership is that natural resources are not immediately available for use. Before we can use them, we need to perform some preparatory mental work: we need to identify how natural properties of a particular object can help us to achieve our ends. This work constitutes the act of discovery of the respective resource. The entrepreneurial theory of ownership draws inspiration from the views of Israel Kirzner and argues that individuals who discover resources are entitled to control them because without their input the resources might as well did not exist. It further shows how discovery plays essential role in both the acquisition of previously unowned resources and the acquisition of resources from others through transfers. In this way, property rights can be justified by the reference to a single normative principle irrespective of their origin. The work develops the argument in favor of the entrepreneurial theory of ownership and shows how it can be applied to both private ownership and common ownership. The work also discusses the most powerful existing objections against theories of historical entitlements and shows how the notion of discovery as the foundation of ownership helps to overcome them. Finally, the work evaluates the relative power of moral claims of owners, justified by the act of discovery, and other types of moral claims.
This work presents the entrepreneurial theory of ownership - a novel approach to philosophical justification of property rights. This approach belongs to a larger family of views known as “theories of historical entitlements”. Under these views, ownership is justified by a reference to a historical event that involved the owner and the object owned and created a moral relationship between them in virtue of which the owner acquired an exclusive right to decide how this object shall be used – the right of private ownership. The central idea of the entrepreneurial theory of ownership is that natural resources are not immediately available for use. Before we can use them, we need to perform some preparatory mental work: we need to identify how natural properties of a particular object can help us to achieve our ends. This work constitutes the act of discovery of the respective resource. The entrepreneurial theory of ownership draws inspiration from the views of Israel Kirzner and argues that individuals who discover resources are entitled to control them because without their input the resources might as well did not exist. It further shows how discovery plays essential role in both the acquisition of previously unowned resources and the acquisition of resources from others through transfers. In this way, property rights can be justified by the reference to a single normative principle irrespective of their origin. The work develops the argument in favor of the entrepreneurial theory of ownership and shows how it can be applied to both private ownership and common ownership. The work also discusses the most powerful existing objections against theories of historical entitlements and shows how the notion of discovery as the foundation of ownership helps to overcome them. Finally, the work evaluates the relative power of moral claims of owners, justified by the act of discovery, and other types of moral claims.