Owning the Land: Four Contemporary Narratives

Our 1997-1998 Distinguished Lecturer authored an Essay addressing property ownership questions in view of four contemporary narratives of land ownership. This Essay discusses in turn the libertarian narrative of individual autonomy, the more traditional narrative of property focused on economic opportunity, a community-centered narrative that understands property as an evolving tool to meet community needs, and a biocentric narrative that looks to the land itself to prescribe the rules on how it can be used. This discussion begins reviewing these tales with the one that has stirred up the most controversy lately, the narrative of autonomy. It is in this narrative that one finds John Locke talked about most openly, along with his optimistic story of endless progress.