Before "rights," the invention of "we," "mine," and "not" made us human -- Bart Wilson

Book Interview: The Property Species: Mine, Yours, and the Human Mind

"In his new book The Property Species, Chapman University law professor Bart Wilson offers a strikingly original look at the origin and meaning of private property.  Unlike scholars who argue that property is a 'social construct,' Wilson argues that property is a deeply and uniquely human practice.  Incorporating insights from history, linguistics, law, and his own laboratory experiments, Wilson illuminates the means by which our ideas of private property originate and gain their moral and legal force.   In this conversation our Teleforum will examine how the institution of private property marks human beings as 'the property species.'" LISTEN