ABSTRACT
Not every intention is an expression of freedom. In this chapter, we discuss how freedom can manifest and why there is no such things as universal freedom, but rather, a process by which societies can gain more freedom. Central to this chapter is the concept of “ownership”, and how freedom relates to possession of things, from objects, resources, land, words, thoughts, and actions. As Friedrich Hegel explains, to be free is to be able to take ownership of events that happen in the world.
Economic and political theory is an area of research that has had a strong impact in archaeology, namely through anarchist theory and the study of stateless and decentralized societies. Through an indigenous case-study of potlatch economy, in the Canadian Northwest coast, this chapter discusses the role of ownership when it comes to the circulation and redistribution of goods.
