The Political Logics Of Property

The property is a core concept, which is concerned about by the Western political philosophers from ancient Greece to the modern. The property is not only the major issue of UK political theory in seventeen and eighteen century, but also a real problem closely linked to the development of modern British capitalism and the rise of civil society. In the British classical liberalism, the property is the core issue of political philosophy, which is concerned with the origins of political society and the premise and foundation of problem of political systems construction. British classical liberalism thinkers reviewed property in three dimensions: First, the legitimacy of property; Second, relationships between public power and property; Third, relationships between basic human rights and property. Therefore, this article on the British classical liberalism of property is compared with the three dimensions, and by which we carry out the arrangements of structure. The text is divided into four parts:The first part: the background of the British classical liberalism property. The British classical liberalism property on the one hand inherited the content and framework of the property theory of before liberalism, the other hand is the product of environment of modern society, economics and politics in Europe, particularly Britain. For the former, the theory of property of ancient Greek, Roman, Medieval, especially the modern natural law school provided a major resource; for the later, commerce and trade, bourgeois revolution, the Renaissance and Enlightenment played a great role in the rise of Britain liberalism property. Therefore, in the first part of this chapter we review and analyze the theoretical background of the British classical liberal theory of the property, and make a briefly and objectively evaluation on the historical function and role to the emerging property in the political theories. Secondly, historically describe the historical background of the rise of the property in the British classical liberalism: economic, politics and culture. The concept of property and the rights to property belongs to the historical category, understanding of people in different regions and times is very different. So, in the last part of this chapter we will make the introduction and analysis of concepts of belongings and the property of Britain classical liberalism thinker.The second part: the generating ways and the legitimate demonstration of the British classical liberalism property. This chapter is mainly to solve the legitimacy issues of the British classical liberalism property. British classical liberalism affirmed and confirmed the necessity of the existence of property, and demonstrated the validity and legitimacy of property from the different paths. The proof of the legitimacy of property was the core content of British classical liberalism philosophy, but there are two prerequisite conditions before the proof of the legitimacy of property: the logic prerequisite and the generating ways of property. Because the two prerequisite conditions fundamentally determines the property of the sufficient proof. By the influence of the natural law school and science, Hobbes, Locke and Hume made the"natural state"of lack authority as a political order and the logic starting point. By the analysis of"natural state", we can drew that the scarcity of resources is the externalities, and the selfishness of human nature is the internal drive. Although the British classical liberal thinkers had the different expression on the resource scarcity and human selfishness in the logical starting point of the property, but in the essence had the positive attitude in the origin of the property as the external conditions and internal drive. There were two ways about the legitimate demonstration of property: the rights and utilitarian. Hobbes and Locke elaborated the validity and legitimacy of property by the natural law and rights; Hume, Smith, Bentham and Mill elaborated the legitimacy of property by the needs of individuals and the welfare of the whole society. The property in the political theories belongs to the historical context, so we make the discourse and contrastive analyses on the logical starting point on the property, the generating ways of property, the legitimacy of the property in the British classical liberalism with the way of the historical evolution. The third part: the property and the political systems in the British classical liberalism. This chapter is mainly to solve the association between the British classical liberalism property and political systems and public power. The origin of any state or government and the government's institutional framework must have certain economic base and supply mechanisms to protect the material wealth of state and government, therefore the property is the central issue of the political systems, is the pillar issue of the foundation of political society. As the political thinkers of the fresh bourgeois, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Smith, Bentham and Mill were trying to raise the property to the national level to reflect, and undoubtedly made the property as the primary and the core political issue in their political philosophy. Therefore, to research the property in the British classical liberalism political theory, we must put the internal association between the political systems and the property as an important content. This chapter is divided into three parts: the inherent logics between the political system and the property; the property and the construction of the political system and the conflict between the property and the political systems. The first part discusses the property and the origin of the state, the property and the national purpose, the property and the legitimacy of state authority and the property and the nature of state. Because the property is drive of state's the generation, so the property is the national aim of state's existence, is the source of legitimacy of state authority, and the decisive factor of the nature of government. The property is exclusively enjoyed rights to exclude others and state authority by the owner, but human nature is selfish, the state power has expansive characteristics, so we need to limit and control the state power from the institutions. Therefore, there is a need to construct the political systems, which is the main issue we will research. The appropriation of the property and the political system is the issue we will research, so if we will comprehensively research the British classical liberalism property, the conflict between the property and the political systems is the indispensable content. So the third part states the dimension of conflict between the property and political systems, which includes the conflicts of between the property and political authority and between the property and the representative systems. Among this chapter, we not only described and explained the inherent logics of the political systems and the property of the British classical liberal thinkers, but also made an objective evaluation in the text.The fourth part: the he property and liberty, equality and justice in the British classical liberalism. This chapter is mainly to solve the association between the property and the basic human rights. First, solve the association between the property and liberty. In the British classical liberalism, to give the property to the human will give human the right to legitimately use the property freely, which means the achievement of freedom. The property highlights the priority of the value of the person and the rank of rights, sets up the priority of a person to the state, the personal interests to the collective interests and the private sector to the public domain. The property marks off the delimitation between the public and the personal, which fiercely protects the personal social freedom. However, we should recognize that the property is a double-edged sword, not only the protection of individual freedom, but also a key factor in the falling of freedom. Second, solve the association between the property and the equality. The property of Hobbes is the result of the nation, but the basis is the principle of equality: the two aspects of human's physical and mental capacity are"very equal". As an value judgments, equality is not just the mark of human self-awareness, but also a political demand. However, Hobbes's equality is the equality of subjects under the sovereign, or the equality of the right. Locke thought that in the natural state, in the face of all the items which God or nature's give, the opportunity to allocate to private individuals is equal, so everyone has an equal starting point to get the property. The equality of the starting point does not mean equality of results. The property whether it includes any forms of the increasing rights has the ability to undermine equality. In the four basic goodness of civil society, Bentham will level the good of equality and security. The property is the main source of personal interests, security and happiness, if we distribute interests by the principles of utilitarian, it will lead to a violation or neglect of individual rights and the loss of the equality of rights. Equality of rights will inevitably lead to inequality of result, and when the society put the utilitarian as the value systems and guiding principles of government's conducts, the result will exacerbate the degree of inequality. The property is the applications program and content of the principle of utilitarian, and the way to lead to the crush of the individual right equality. The last, solve the association between the property and justice. Hobbes thought that justice is what they belong to each individual to give yourself a constant will and expectations. Justice is the fulfillment of the contract, and the aim of contract is to protect and realize the property. Therefore, the protection of the property is the actual content of justice. Although Hume rejected philosophical basis and proof of methods of justice of the classical natural law school, the theory of justice connected with the property as Hobbes and Locke. Hume believed that justice is about the rules of property.