Property theory

Author: (USA) Pipers R.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The content of this book is entirely different from the content of every book I have written so far. All these books (except one textbook on modern European history) tell the story of Russia, its history and present. However, this book is a natural extension of my previous works. Since I developed a strong interest in Russia, I have realized that one fundamental difference between Russian history and the history of other European countries is the underdevelopment of property. Western historians (unlike Western philosophers and political theorists) view property as a natural phenomenon: they rarely focus on it, despite its close connection to all aspects of Western social life and its significant role in the history of Western thought. The first two chapters of this book discuss the historical evolution of both the concept of property and property systems. The middle part of the book—the third and fourth chapters—analyzes the relationship between property relations and politics in two extreme examples, Britain and Russia, which powerfully illustrate the points I want to convey. The concluding chapters focus on the 20th-century situation, particularly the United States, and emphasize the latent threat to freedom in the trend of welfare states striving for social and economic equality.