Property

Summary

Dominique Pagani defines property in opposition to possession. Possession is merely the effect of force, like the lion taking the cheetah's prey; property is a right, which is not empirical and rests on a positive title recognised by another subject1. It is therefore ternary: myself, the thing, and the other who recognises me2. It cannot be seen in the thing, and use is not enough to ground it when it is contested, as with a well in a time of drought34. He regards Rousseau as the most radical figure of the Enlightenment because he calls into question property, which is its foundation, and not possession56. He specifies that Rousseau fights deprivative property, not property. He also connects the concept to Marx: what is at stake in the theory of value is the ownership of the means of production. Finally, he contrasts the private, "I deprive you of it", with the public and the State, starting from the sign "private property, no mushroom picking"7.

1. 1#3.6 From Ulysses to Daedalus1 Aug 2017 · 41:17
2. 2#9.18 Twilight of the Gods, or from repetition to liberation3 Apr 2021 · 1:23:01
3. 3L'île du Peuple: the debate23 Jun 2015 · 22:59
4. 4L'île du Peuple: the debate23 Jun 2015 · 1:23:21
5. 5#2 Rousseau, a world that begins20 Sept 2014 · 10:04
6. 6#3.6 From Ulysses to Daedalus1 Aug 2017 · 1:15:35
7. 7State and state apparatus: the conflict between public and private29 Aug 2025 · 4:03

Summary produced automatically from 18 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.