governing interpersonal relationships:
The institution of property, in addition to regulating
the relationships between individuals, ascertains
their relation with reference to objects as well. The
immediate purpose of ownership is to determine the
relationship between individuals in respect to the use
of things. (p.181)
He further went on to list four essential conditions of
ownership:
1) Existence of normative order which recognizes the
institution of property.
2) The object of property.
3) The person in whom the property is vested.
4) The person on whom the duty of non-interference is
imposed. (p.182)
The main elements of these notions of ownership as a
system of interpersonal regulation can be expressed in a
general conceptual framework using set theory notation. As
a first step, of course, there must be a set P of agents to
own events and objects:
P=(p| pis agent who can own )
Then, there must be a set E of ownable events and objects:
E =( e | e is an ownable event or object)
Further, tor every element in E, there must be a set F of
functions and uses:
fF =( £f | £ is a function or use of some e )
Finally, there must be a set U of agents who can use the
slements in E:
U=(u | uis an agent who can use e's)
ypically, p's and u's are people or groups of people. But