What is 'Ownership'?

[StephenK]

I understand that one can not objectively own a thing, but I speak here in the context of society/government/politics. How do we go about deciding who owns what? Who gets to decide who owns what? Where does the power lie? I'm curious to hear your views.

[Forestluv]

@StephenK It depends on the society. There have been many forms of power dynamics over human history and many forms that occur now. 

[bejapuskas]

@StephenK  It's all basically mental construct. You could say it is given by law, but you need to have a non-corrupt army and police to have a well functioning state, where the law actually matters (not the case in many countries in Africa for example), but even these people who have „the power“ still need to maintain their mental construct in order to keep doing their work... That doesn't mean it's bad, it makes our lives easier, but it is not an absolute, all material things are limited, finite and temporary.

[StephenK]

@Serotoninluv @bejapuskas So ownership is nothing more than an exercise of power in the context of society/government/politics? If two people acknowledge each other's ownership fully with no malintent (that is, no need for an external force to exercise it's own will, like police, law, etc), is it still a power dynamic? I can imagine a dynamic where a husband is fully willing to let his wife 'own' his car, even though it is legally in his name. When it comes to ownership, what do you consider a 'healthy' form of a power dynamic? That is, when should power be exercised against the will of another? As for power, what forms does it manifest in? Physical violence (police,military)? Psychological violence (shame,fear)? I know there are a lot of questions here, so don't feel obligated to answer ?

Edited September 28, 2019 by StephenK

[bejapuskas]

@StephenK  It is definitely healthy to have this dynamic in our society, just don't be attached to physical things and don't try to own another person.