The Future of Natural Property Law: Comments on Eric Claeys’s Natural Property Rights

Professor Eric Claeys is among the most thoughtful modern proponents of natural property rights. His new book, provided to conference participants in draft form, typical his rigorously analytical approach. It an impressive articulation a rights-based account property. significantly advances debate over rights and should be taken seriously even by those who do not find it entirely convincing.
 There are real-world political stakes abstract-seeming questions theory because often deployed limit government regulation Natural contrast with positivist accounts that locate content substance positive law. Where come from State, State has broad authority reconfigure theorists, like Claeys, want bulwark against so insist pre-political core.
 That core deeply contested, however. For “natural,” they must apply widely, if universally, accepted, or at least derivable abstract. To operate this level, generally underdetermine substantive Reasoning rights, therefore, devolves into contingent consequentialist utilitarian arguments look anything but natural.
 Often, law rationalize existing legal doctrines But can sometimes feel bit failure imagination, assuming aspects necessary inherent when fact, may quite contingent. If reasoning defend dramatically different becomes worryingly thin as justificatory enterprise. risks sliding outcome-driven conclusory analyses.
 One way explore limits see whether could used radically set institutions. Instead looking anthropologically communities around world historically arrangements our own history, perhaps interesting—or entertaining—to consider how theorists future might transformed What follows, then, thought experiment—an Article perspective fictional future. intended actually imposes on imagined not, serve caution for use justify regime we have today.