Brought to you by Loughborough University’s Anarchism Research Group (ARG), Anarchist Essays presents leading academics, activists, and thinkers exploring themes in anarchist theory, history, and practice.
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Brought to you by Loughborough University’s Anarchism Research Group (ARG), Anarchist Essays presents leading academics, activists, and thinkers exploring themes in anarchist theory, history, and practice.
Essay #101: Jesse Spafford, ‘The Anarchist Case Against Private Property’
Anarchist Essays
14 minutes 32 seconds
7 months ago
Essay #101: Jesse Spafford, ‘The Anarchist Case Against Private Property’
In this essay, Jesse Spafford argues that plausible libertarian premises support the classical anarchist conclusion that no one has any moral property rights over land or resources. Drawing on the argument advanced in Chapter 4 of his book Social Anarchism and the Rejection of Moral Tyranny, he contends that neither states nor would-be property owners can impose obligations on others without consent.
Jesse Spafford is a Lecturer in philosophy at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, where he researches moral debates between libertarians, socialists, and anarchists. He is the author of Social Anarchism and the Rejection of Moral Tyranny (available open access on the Cambridge University Press website) and various other papers on anarchism including "Social Anarchism and the Rejection of Private Property" and "An Anarchist Interpretation of Marx's 'Ability to Needs' Principle." A complete list of his research and public-facing work is available on his website.
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Anarchist Essays
Brought to you by Loughborough University’s Anarchism Research Group (ARG), Anarchist Essays presents leading academics, activists, and thinkers exploring themes in anarchist theory, history, and practice.