This book is Karl Widerquists first statement of the indepentarian theory of property, called, Justice as the Pursuit of Accord (JPA). It argues the natural-rights-based arguments for unequal private property have failed to establish that institution as right. It is a legal privilege, inconsistent with the maximum equal freedom from interference. The book discusses how to establish and maintain a property system that best promotes freedom from interference. Paying taxes and obeying regulations is part of the purchase price of the right to control, use, or use-up any good made partly out of natural resources (i.e. all goods), because doing so interferes with people who control, use, or use-up fewer natural resources. A sufficient portion of that tax revenue has to be redistributed in the form of a Universal Basic Income to ensure the property system is in the interest of everyone.
Chapter
1. Introduction.
Chapter 2: The Problem Of Property.
Chapter 3: Lockean Property Theory: A Menu Of Options For The Justification Of Unilateral Appropriation.
Chapter 4: Lockean Appropriation Assessed.
Chapter 5: Right-Libertarian Appropriation Assessed.
Chapter 6: The Approximation Of A Property Rights Accord.
Chapter 7: Conclusion: The Greater Of Two Goods.
Karl Widerquist is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University-Qatar. He specializes in distributive justicethe ethics of who has what. He has published dozens of articles in fields as diverse as economics, philosophy, politics, and anthropology.
