ABSTRACT
The discourse of private property rights in the western liberal democracies has centered on notions of economic and political utility. Locke and Bentham argued that property rights were useful to encourage economic accumulation and wealth. Madison held that private property rights were essential politically, in order to protect individual liberties. The situs of property rights in the individual was disputed by Hegel, who viewed the political utility of private property rights as dependent on their relation to other interests in society. These classical views have been re-iterated and applied to contemporary conditions, while the end of the Cold War and the apparent demise of communism have emboldened proponents of private property regimes to promote their vision internationally under the guise of globalization. However, in light of current historical conditions, the classical discourse of property and its contemporary variants can appropriately be subject to critique and re-evaluation, and their applicability internationally subject to challenge.
