John Stuart Mill argued that no one should be deprived of his or her property that belongs to him or her by law. Consider the ways property comes into someone's possession: purchase, inheritance, or theft. Assuming someone procured property legally; trace it back to the first owner. Did that owner have the right to sell it? How did the first person ever come to own anything? Some would argue that everything began by theft. If so, how does anyone have a legitimate claim to anything today? Imagine, for example, you buy a house on an acre of land. At one time that land was occupied by the Native Americans. Did they own it first? Did anyone? Did anyone have the right to sell it away from them? After many sales do you "own" it? The study of property rights starts with very difficult philosophical questions of "ownership." Discuss.

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The Answer of John Stuart Mill argued that no one should be deprived of his or her property that belongs to him or her by law. Consider the ways property comes into someone's possession: purchase, inheritance, or theft. Assuming someone procured property legally; trace it back to the first owner. Did that owner have the right to sell it? How did the first person ever come to own anything? Some would argue that everything began by theft. If so, how does anyone have a legitimate claim to anything today? Imagine, for example, you buy a house on an acre of land. At one time that land was occupied by the Native Americans. Did they own it first? Did anyone? Did anyone have the right to sell it away from them? After many sales do you "own" it? The study of property rights starts with very difficult philosophical questions of "ownership." Discuss.

John Stuart Mill Argued That No One Should Be Deprived