We explain what private property is and when this legal concept arises. Also, examples and other forms of property.
What is private property?
Private property is assets of any type (homes, capital, vehicles, objects, tools, even factories, entire buildings, land or corporations) that can be owned, bought, sold, leased or left as an inheritance by natural and legal persons other than the State, that is, by elements of the private sector of society.
Private property assets are not alienable under any circumstances without the express will of their owner (except in cases of nationalization or nationalization, carried out by the State for the common good), and doing so in any way constitutes a crime punishable by law. The protection of private property is considered by many to be one of the tasks of public order forces and the State.
Simple examples of private property would be: real estate, money in bank accounts, urban land and private vehicles.
See also: Property law
Origin of private property
Although there have been owners of things since the beginning of time, to the point that in ancient times even slaves were part of the private property of a powerful person, The appearance of this legal concept was built from Roman law in which a distinction was made between public res (public affairs) and individual interests (private).
But it would be during the Industrial Revolution and the advent of capitalism that this concept would have enormous importance, especially in the political discourse of the revolutionary left, which understands it as a form of unequal distribution of available wealth. private property It is contrary to the foundations of communism and socialism according to which the assets would have to be mostly of a public or community nature.
The doctrine of Marxist (communist) thought actually distinguishes personal property (of necessarily personal use, such as housing or personal belongings) and private property (understood as the control by an economic elite of the means of production).
Characteristics of private property
Private property is always subject to the legal specifications of the legal code of each nation, but broadly speaking it has the following characteristics:
- It is subject to free trade Anyone can buy or sell private property, as long as said transaction is made as regulated in the civil codes and ordinances that regulate the matter.
- It is individual Private property can have only one owner at a time (unless it is a company, which is owned by several shareholders, but each owns a limited number of different shares).
- It's free Each owner of private property can do with it whatever they want, within the framework of the laws.
- She is strongly guarded The capitalist system in general protects private property through laws, organizations and actions that prevent anyone from appropriating someone else's property and that provide reparations for those whose private property is violated by third parties.
- It is perpetual The lordship over private property does not expire over time, and can be transferred in the event of the death of the owner to his close relatives or to whomever he decides during his lifetime.
Other forms of property
While the existence of private property raises the possibility of an individual or a group of them taking over (alienating) the movable or immovable property available in society, other different forms of possession arise as an alternative, especially by the leftist sectors of society, committed to the socialization and democratization of goods considered scarce.
These other forms of property are:
- Public or social property. That which belongs to the State and institutions that do not have an owner.
- Community property. That which belongs to a community or an organized social cooperative, that is, to many individuals committed not to personal enrichment but to community benefit.
public property
public property It is characterized by not belonging to a specific individual but to the totality of the interests of the citizens of a nation, represented in this case by the State. This is not the same as saying that what is public does not belong to anyone, but that it is really of everythings.
In this sense, public goods they cannot be alienated that is, they cannot become someone's property and be taken from the rest of society as a whole (except in cases where the State decides so, that is, privatization).
Examples of public property are public parks, public roads, State assets and public companies (often providing essential services, such as electricity, water, etc.).
