Rousseau's View of Private Property

Jessica Trinh

Essay #1

LBST 301

2 March 2006

Rousseau's View of Private Property

Land and private ownership has been the reason for many wars and debates throughout history. There are various people whom believe that land should be used as private property, Rousseau, Jefferson, and Smith, and others whom believe land should only have public use, Marx and Engels. Rousseau believes that land should be used for private property and that it is necessary within the social contract to demonstrate the status of citizenship.

Rousseau's The Origin of Civil Society describes how horrendous life would be if we were in a state of nature because of the brutish lifestyle that we would have to endure. In the civil state we have given up many of our freedoms that we would have in the state of nature to ensure that we live a peaceful and civilized manner. He believes that an aspect of the civil state would then include ownership of private property. He states, "All men have a natural right to what is necessary to them" (70). It is apparent then that he means that in the civil state all men have the right to own private property because of the necessity man has for land. He understands that the right of private property would then entail that they would have to follow the rule of "first occupancy" (70). Rousseau understands the flaw of weakness in this idea of "first occupancy," (70) but he supports this idea by stating, "First occupancy [...] is guaranteed to every man enjoying the status of citizen" (70). If the right of private property is given to man by a mutual understanding then it is obvious that private property if essential to mankind and its citizenship.

His most important idea of his civil society is that ''as owners they are trustees for the common wealth. Their rights are respected/by their fellow citizens and are maintained by the united strength of the community [.. .]" (71). In this quote Rousseau is stating that private property allows the owners to be in power of what is occurring in the society and that they are held together as a community by the land that they own. It is seen as when the people have private property they want to ensure that the land is being used to the best of its abilities and by doing this they are then concerned how others are using their land, which creates a community and a society. It is apparent then that private property is nothing but advantageous to the good of the commonwealth.

Opponents to Rousseau's ideas believe that private ownership is disadvantageous, and in actuality it is harming the commonwealth. Famous opponents to private property are Marx and Engels, whom wrote the Communist Manifesto which describes a constant class struggle between the proletariats and the bourgeois; Marx believes part of this class struggle is caused by private property owned by the bourgeois. In this class struggle the proletariats feel as though they are treated unfairly because they are the basis of the forces of production, but will never be treated equal enough to own land. At this time land was only available to the rich people, such as the aristocrats and the bourgeois, due to the availability and cost of the land. This feeling of being wronged will result in a revolution, and the present social order will be destroyed. Therefore, as Marx states "The communists can sum up their theory in one motto: abolition of private property" (75).

In Engels, Principles of Communism, he argues that the industry is corrupted by the competition of individuals; therefore, the industry needs to be controlled by the society itself. Engels believes "private ownership cannot be separated from [.. .] competition, hence private ownership will have to be abolished and in its stead there will be a common use of the instruments" (146). His belief is comparable to Marx whom considers private property to be the cause of competition between the two classes; therefore, it causes the reoccurring theme of the class struggle. He states that the land should be utilized as public land, and should not be owned by any one person, which will avoid this competition altogether.

Engels also states, "The private property has become a fetter and a barrier in relation to the further development of the forces of production" (www.marxists.org). He again refers to the fact that private property causes trouble within the community, and ultimately affects the development of the forces of production, combination of means of production with the human labor power. The workforce is based on these forces of production and because land is affecting this crucial aspect of the commonwealth it is necessary