Finding Possession: Labor, Waste, and the Evolution of Property
39 Cap.U.L.Rev. 51 2011
35 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2014
Date Written: February 19, 2014
Abstract
Although possession has long been intimately linked to labor, recent historical work on land claims during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries suggests that the clash of divergent legal cultures of possession drove the two apart. This clash yielded an American concept of possession much more deeply connected to industrialization than the traditional understanding of labor. By providing evidence of how our concept of labor was industrialized, this article questions the outcomes in modem possession cases, particularly as they impact development and environmental preservation in rural areas.
Keywords: Property, “Legal History,” Possession, Waste, Locke, “Theories of Property,” “Environmental Law”
JEL Classification: K10, K11, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation