Are Property Rights Ever Basic Human Rights?

Citation

Cruft R (2010) Are Property Rights Ever Basic Human Rights?. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 12 (1), pp. 142-154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2009.00398.x

Abstract
Stealing from someone is not as bad as torturing, killing or raping them. But is the difference between theft and these fundamental violations simply a difference in degree (of severity)? I begin this article by outlining several ways in which the moral grounds for property rights differ in kind from those for basic human rights, differences that underpin and explain the difference in severity. I go on to ask whether, despite these differences, there might be some property rights that we should still classify as basic human rights.

Keywords
property rights; human rights; individualism

Journal
British Journal of Politics and International Relations: Volume 12, Issue 1

People

Professor Rowan Cruft

Professor, Philosophy