Moral justification of private property

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2018
Atalay, Mert
In this thesis, I aim at drawing out the moral implications of private property by examining its relationships with some core moral concepts, such as rights, freedom and privacy. Dealing with these relationships, I believe that I am able to reveal the fundamental principle of a practical morality, which is ‘appropriation’. With respect to this principle, I argue that private property’s connection to morality requires the perspective of the appropriation of values. The appropriation of values is my own reading of the Objectivist ethics that is built on the epistemological and ethical principles of Objectivism. Objectivism is the philosophical system invented by Ayn Rand that relies on the pursuit of one’s own rational interests in the achievement of objective values and happiness. However, for the purpose of my thesis, I mainly focus on introducing and improving my own arguments regarding moral justification of private property, which takes its key notions from Objectivism.

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Citation Formats
M. Atalay, “Moral justification of private property,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2018.