The Necessity of Private Property Ownership
I came across this fascinating argument from William of Ockham in the deliciously named On The Tyrannical Ascendancy of the Pope (early 1340s):
“But after sin, because among men there grew up avarice and the desire to possess and use temporal things wrongly, it was useful and expedient that temporal things should be appropriated and not all be common, to restrain the immoderate appetite of the wicked for possessing temporal things and to drive out neglect of the proper management and administration of temporal things, since common affairs are commonly neglected by bad men.”
The argument (more extensive than this single quote), is that “temporal things” were held in common pre-Fall (i.e., common ownership), which worked because without sin, property was used wisely and according to need. This of course makes common ownership the state of perfection in a pre-Fall world.
Preventing Sin
Interestingly, private ownership (putting this in modern language) arises as a consequence of the Fall, but not because it is intrinsically sinful, but because it is a necessary way of addressing sin lest the common property be misused (by the greedy) and/or neglected (by freeloaders).
Thus, while private ownership was not a part of the good creation, it is a “good”, after a kind, designed to adapt to the emergence of avarice and neglect.
He obtained the neglect argument from Aristotle’s famous critique of Plato’s common property argument (all the way down to wives and children) for the guardian class in The Republic based on the insight that people do not value, and therefore care for, things which they do not own as much as they do for the things they do own (still one of the best arguments for private property ever advanced).
___
Originally published on Dr Jonathan Cole’s page.
Subscribe to his podcast, The Political Animals, for more insights.
Photo by Zen Chung.
One Comment
Leave A Comment
Recent Articles:
27 August 2026
1.8 MINS
When compassion replaces judgment, victims vanish from the story. From a Massachusetts mother's murder trial to Britain's A66 tragedy, we're losing the language to call evil by its name.
27 August 2026
4.7 MINS
Bishop Fulton Sheen argued Communism and capitalism share a common root—materialism divorced from morality. That affinity, this piece argues, explains China's persecution of Christians today.
27 August 2026
2.6 MINS
Religious leaders are urging Labor to exempt faith-based charities from its new 30 per cent discretionary trust tax, warning the reform could severely cut philanthropic funding for vulnerable Australians.
26 August 2026
1.6 MINS
Victoria's cults inquiry report lacks clear definitions and religious freedom safeguards. ACL welcomes support for survivors but warns mainstream churches and homeschooling families could be wrongly caught up.
26 August 2026
4.5 MINS
Hindu Dara Singh, convicted for burning missionary Graham Staines and his sons alive in 1999, is seeking early release. His case reopens questions about justice, remorse, and religious violence in India.
26 August 2026
6.1 MINS
The high-profile Sydney Swans AFL scandal reminds us that "respectable" sins are just as serious as the ones that make headlines.
26 August 2026
5.4 MINS
A review of Texas Senate candidate James Talarico's 2023 sermon rejecting religious exclusivism, examining his claims about God's universality through both logical and biblical arguments against religious pluralism.
The prospect of owning my own home was paramount to me. And so I do . I could never have envisioned the day when the State (et al ) could simply take it .
None the less I do not regret that particular decision because it proves beyond doubt that home ownership is possible regardless of background….unless of course one chooses victim status.