Wednesday June 25, 2008
Private property
One summer, while I was at university, I worked on a bush crew. Before we headed out into the northern forests, our employer issued equipment to each of us: a backpack, a sleeping bag, some instruments, an axe… and a file to keep the axe sharp.
Having had some previous experience with axes, I knew that the only safe axe is a sharp axe. I carefully wrapped my file in waterproof plastic film and tucked it away in my pack.
Others were not as careful. Within weeks, most of the files had been left out in the rain. They were rusty, dulled, useless.
Halfway through the summer, I sat in a remote camp one evening, touching up the edge on my axe. When I finished, another crew member grabbed for my file.
“No!” I said. “You won\’t take care of it.”
“It\’s not your file,” he retorted. “The company handed them out to all of us!”
I lied. “It is so my file,” I blurted.
“You brought it from Vancouver with you?”
“Yes,” I lied again.
But my answer satisfied him. He left my file alone.
Clearly, he felt he had a right to take, and use, anything that was common property. But private property, personal property, was sacrosanct, untouchable.
Cultural icon
It was the first time I became conscious of how private ownership can become something akin to divine right. Since childhood, I had owned a bicycle, some clothing, some sports equipment… But no one had ever challenged that ownership. So the issue never came up.
Since then I\’ve realized that in our society private property has become an article of faith – unquestionable, unchallengeable.
A man buys an acreage. It carries a covenant that the land will be preserved as wilderness. Technically, he obeys. He doesn\’t sub-divide for housing. But he logs it for firewood; he bulldozes access roads; he stores construction equipment on it. “It\’s my land,” he says.
Legally, the beach is public. A couple who own a waterfront lot put up fences to limit access to the beach. “We bought the lot,” they say. “We have rights too.”
A social worker calls on a dysfunctional family. The mother protests, “They\’re my kids. No one\’s going to tell me how to raise my kids.”
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For a lighter look at ethics, faith, and life, I recommend Ralph Milton\’s weekly e-newsletter Rumors. You can subscribe to it at the Wood Lake Books home page in Ralph Milton\’s Site, or by sending a note directly to ralphmilton@woodlake.com.
It\’s also worth pursuing Charlene Fairchild\’s United Online site. Another site worth visiting is David Keating\’s \”SeemslikeGod\” page.
From Moses\’ time on, private ownership has been assumed to have benefits. But it also had responsibilities. Ownership was like a lease from God. Eventually, the owner was expected to return it to God, in better condition.
Ownership was never carte blanche, to do what you want with.
In our thinking, private ownership has become so entrenched that most people cannot imagine any alternative. The notion that a river, a valley, an ocean, can belong to everyone offends them. It simply invites someone else to exploit that resource.
Or else it raises fears of socialism, communism, and Big Brother rampant.
But the real alternative to private ownership is neither government control nor anarchy. It is responsibility – even for that which you do not own.
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Copyright © 2007 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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