Private Property Is Ego: Reflections on Property, Neoliberalism and Law

Drawing on Badiou’s statement: ’Property as ego＂, this book argues that the reality of neo-liberalism means that rather than seeing it as ego, we need to understand that private property is ego. The book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the neo-liberal account of private property as a liberal choice in respect of the use of goods and resources, which can be controlled. The book challenges this view arguing that private property cannot be justified, regardless of how much restraint the state tries to impose on choice. Ultimately private property is not choice, it is ego. Part II develops a theory of private property as the expression of the neo-liberal ego. Working from Badiou’s statement, it argues that all of the liberal and neo-liberal theorising about the content of private property, and the justifications for it merely seek to defend the exercise of ego as concerns the allocation, use and control of the planet’s goods and resources. Part III calls for the rejection of private property as the means of apportioning the world. It offers reflections on alternatives as to how the earth’s things might be allocated, forcing us to reflect upon how a world without private property might look.

Paul Babie holds a Personal Chair of Law in the Adelaide Law School of The University of Adelaide. He holds a BA in sociology from the University of Calgary, a BThSt from Flinders University, a LLB from the University of Alberta, a LLM from the University of Melbourne, and a DPhil in law from the University of Oxford. He is a Barrister and Solicitor (inactive) of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Canada), and an Associate Member of the Law Society of South Australia. His primary research interests include Marxist theory and socialist legal theory, critical theory, private law theory, property theory, and liberation theology. He has published and spoken extensively in these fields. He teaches property law, property theory, and Roman law.