Definition

• Ownership itself is defined as having the right to make decisions over property to the exclusion of others.
  • For example, when you eat food, you use that property (the food you eat) to the exclusion of all other people.
• ‘Ownership’ might also be better phrased as that which we have exclusive stewardship over to the exclusion of all others.
• Some say the real test of ownership is whether you have the right to destroy it without asking another’s permission.
• Of course, fractional and joint ownership of property is also legally possible and quite common.

Self Ownership

• To say we legally own ourselves means we have the exclusive right to control ourselves. This exclusive right to control extends beyond our bodies to include charting the course of our lives. For competent adults, self-ownership, then, is he right to control and chart the course of one's life.

Ownership requires three things.

• A claim of ownership,
• A boundary (you don’t need an actual fence), and
• Control. Control over the property is evidenced when neighbors respect your claim of ownership.