Ownership

This page is about our views on the ownership of property. This topic is related to what many people call "property rights"; we are cautious about using the term "property rights" because this term can impose one particular view of property and ownership on people who may hold differing views.

Some of our beliefs that are most directly related to the ownership of property are those surrounding responsibility and consent.

Ownership and responsibility

Our beliefs state that in a healthy state, people take responsibility for their actions. Responsibility is hard to define, but our view of responsibility is that it involves a certain degree of accessibility and openness to discussion about the way a person's actions affect others.

Some ownership, such as the ownership of small items held within a home, may have little or no effect on other people on a daily basis. But in other cases, such as of land or buildings, the effects of a person's choices involving that property can be large.