Property without Personhood
37 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2017
Date Written: April 16, 2017
Abstract
The property as personhood theory provides a dominant justification for legal theory and has shaped numerous legal doctrines. Although the theory has been criticized by many scholars, one important concern has escaped scholars thus far. Property as personhood limits identity and confines growth. The concept allows little room for experimenting with personality and testing one’s lifestyle. Access, a rising form of property use in the sharing economy, provides an important alternative. It allows for property use without personhood, emphasizing choice, flexibility and mobility. This Article presents this alternative and explains its significance to property legal theory contra the property as personhood theory. It also details the benefits and costs associated with property without personhood, and sketches out possible legal implications.
Keywords: Property, Personhood, Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption, Access, Use, Mobility, Property Theory
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