Principle 3 – Property and Ownership
Libertarians have developed property rights through a long list of great thinkers such John Locke, Murray Rothbard, and Hans-Hermann Hoppe. The Creatarian view of ownership on property is very similar if not almost identical to the work of these men and in ideas and non-scarce goods very similar to the work of Stephan Kinsella in recent years.
In things that are not scarce such as ideas, knowledge, and beliefs there can be no scarcity as long as relationships are fostered. When one individual imparts an idea from one to another they may have heard elsewhere this is the process of how relationships develop creativity by being a conductor of ideas. After this transmission both individuals have this idea, this knowledge. So in the exchange of ideas there is no trade off, a question of transfer, only duplication. So since duplication is process of creation and not destruction how can one have quarreled with this process?
As well, this process also extends the life of an individual beyond death by attribution. By transmitting your ideas through relationships you’ve had while you were alive. Your creations remain as life beyond death. You ideas, thoughts, and inventions exist to establish new relationships with individuals intertemporally. Although, if attribution to these ideas and to your role in the process of its existence is not made, then not only does this prevent future relationships via ideas but also destroys your post-mortal existence via those relationships. So while there is no reason to prohibit the transfer and duplication of ideas, the attribution of them is vital to the establishment of relationships and understanding the lineage of ideas.
As far as scarce goods, things that can’t just be easily duplicated due to its physical nature do require some framework of property rights. In the homesteading framework to property rights championed by the likes of Locke and Rothbard one must transform an object with no owner. For example a vast piece of land can be transformed by building a fence establishing borders. Since now the land is transformed the transformer has the most prior claim on that property and continue to own it or transfer ownership voluntary to another individual.
From a Creatarian view this holds up since that initial transformation is the creation of something new, so the creator now has the most senior claim. One question someone might ask is what is to stop someone else from transforming already transformed property to create something new and be the owner of this new creation. The problem with this is that while the transforming someone else’s property create something new, you are also destroying someone else’s creation which essentially cancels out your creation meaning there is no transfer of the claim of ownership. Only voluntary transfers of ownerships qualify as true transfers.
Property Rights are important to protect the creations of individuals from other destroying them. If people understand and protect property rights, creations can only be transformed voluntary which is not destructive since now the creative forces are collaborating thus establishing the magnified creative power of relationships.
