ABSTRACT
Members of the current generation have property rights in the resources of the earth, but it may be that these resources will be needed by future generations whose currently nonexistent members cannot ask to protect their interests. Clearly present property rights are morally significant. This chapter explores how the fundamental interests of future persons can be weighed against current fundamental rights. It argues that the status and validity of current property rights depends importantly on the way in which the institution of private property is likely to influence the welfare of future persons. The main lines of Locke's theory of appropriation are familiar: individuals have property rights in their own bodies, which impose duties of noninterference on others. Self-ownership is supposed to imply ownership of one's labor, so when people "mix" their labor with external objects, they acquire valid claims to property.
