A manifesto against property (2023)
This 2023 article presents a manifesto against the concept of property, arguing that property regimes are fundamentally tied to dispossession, inequality, and social harm. It critiques property as a legal and social institution that enables exploitation and calls for reimagining social relations beyond ownership.
Background
- This piece is a scholarly manifesto arguing that the modern concept of "property" — especially private property — is a root cause of social and ecological crises. It calls for abolishing property as a legal and ideological framework, not just redistributing it.
- The authors (anthropologists and critical theorists writing in the journal *Focaal*) build on a long tradition of anti-property thought, from Marx and Engels to Indigenous critiques of land ownership and recent movements like "the commons" and degrowth.
- The argument targets not only capitalist property but also liberal reformism that seeks to extend property rights to the excluded (e.g., land titles for the poor), which they see as reinforcing the same system.
- Key context: The 2020s have seen renewed interest in "post-capitalist" thinking, especially after the 2008 financial crisis, climate breakdown, and COVID-19, all of which exposed the limits of property-based market systems. This manifesto intervenes in academic debates about "the commons" (shared resources managed collectively) and alternatives to capitalism.