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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

189951

Autonomy, taxation and ownership

an anarchist critique of Kant's theory of property

Kory DeClark

pp. 69-85

Abstract

Property fundamentally affects liberty. When any two individuals occupy space in a finite area, the choices of one will, in principle, and usually in practice, limit the liberties of the other. For instance, if I am sitting in a public park, then you can sit anywhere you please so long as you do not want to sit in the very space I occupy, for I am already sitting there and you have no right to move me. But if, as it turns out, you own the park, then some would say you do have a right to sit in the space I currently occupy, for I have no right to be there. Property, by limiting the sphere of our available and legitimate actions, has this clear and elemental effect on liberty.

Publication details

Published in:

Franks Benjamin, Wilson Matthew (2010) Anarchism and moral philosophy. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 69-85

DOI: 10.1057/9780230289680_5

Full citation:

DeClark Kory (2010) „Autonomy, taxation and ownership: an anarchist critique of Kant's theory of property“, In: B. Franks & M. Wilson (eds.), Anarchism and moral philosophy, Dordrecht, Springer, 69–85.