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Single Idea 22813

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights ]

Full Idea

It is standardly said that we need the right to property as an essential underpinning of life, but this is patently not true. …In reality it is actually seen as an essential part of a life of independence.

Gist of Idea

Property is not essential for life, but it may be essential for independence

Source

Charles Taylor (Atomism [1979], p.41)

Book Ref

'Communitarianism and Individualism', ed/tr. Avineri,S. /de-Shalit,A. [OUP 1992], p.41


A Reaction

Hence it has a high value for liberals, for whom an independent life is the prime social aspiration. The law of trespass will define the degree of independence provided by property.


The 17 ideas from Charles Taylor

If the state is neutral, there won't be sufficient community to support a welfare state [Taylor,C, by Kymlicka]
The social contract sees society as constituted by and for individuals [Taylor,C]
Assigning a right based on a human capacity implies that the capacity should be developed [Taylor,C]
A right is not just a rule, but also asserts certain ideas of moral worth [Taylor,C]
For most people the primacy of rights mainly concerns freedom [Taylor,C]
Property is not essential for life, but it may be essential for independence [Taylor,C]
Our reliance on other people close to us does not imply any political obligations [Taylor,C]
If freedom depends on society and culture, the greatest freedom is in shaping them [Taylor,C]
Consistency presupposes intrinsic description [Taylor,C]
Selfhood and moral values are inextricably intertwined [Taylor,C]
To have respect for people, you must feel their claims, or their injustices, or hold them in awe [Taylor,C]
I can only be aware of myself as a person who changes by means of my personal history [Taylor,C]
In later utilitarianism the modern stress on freedom leads to the rejection of paternalism [Taylor,C]
Nominalists defended the sovereignty of God against the idea of natural existing good and evil [Taylor,C]
My aim is to map the connections between our sense of self and our moral understanding [Taylor,C]
The modern self has disengaged reason, self-exploration, and personal commitment [Taylor,C]
Willingness to risk life was the constitutive quality of the man of honour [Taylor,C]