What is property?

[gotlucky]

@Minarchist

Does it really? So I cannot sell anything that I cannot physically separate myself from? Why is that?

Obviously, depending upon the legal system, you can sell whatever you want to sell. What Kinsella is doing is demonstrating that the title to the body cannot be alienated as the body cannot be abandoned (well, at least so long as you are alive). Again, you can alienate body parts, as you can cut them off or out of you (though I advise having a professional surgeon do it :p).

What Kinsella is saying is that transferability is derived from abandonment. So, we should see why that is. Consider:

You are going to buy an apple from me for $5. How do I come to possess the $5 and how do you come to possess the apple? Well, let’s look at the definition of the word abandon:

Verb

abandon (third-person singular simple present abandons, present participle abandoning, simple past and past participle abandoned)

1. (transitive) To give up control of, to surrender, as in a ship or a position, typically in response to overwhelming odds or impending dangers.
2. (transitive) To leave behind; to desert; toforsake, in spite of a duty or responsibility. [quotations ▼]

   Many baby girls have been abandoned on the streets of Beijing every day.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject. [quotations ▼]
4. (transitive) To no longer exercise a right, title, or interest, especially with no interest of reclaiming it again; to yield; to relinquish.
5. (transitive) To give oneself over, or to yield without restraint or control.
6. (transitive) To turn away from; to permit to lapse; to desist in doing, practicing, following, or adhering to.
7. (transitive) To surrender to the insurer the item that was insured, so as to claim payment for a total loss.

Well, the most relevant definition is the fourth one. So, abandon may sound like a funky word to use, but given the definition, it makes sense. So, in what manner can you cease to exercise a right, title, or interest in your body? You cannot. You can pick some berries from a bush, and you can claim ownership over it. And then you can relinquish ownership over it. But you cannot relinquish ownership over your body.

Now, I imagine your criticism will be, “Even if I cannot relinquish ownership of my body, I can still trade ownership”. But relinquishing ownership is what you do when you trade.

Back to the apple. When you give me the $5, you relinquish ownership of the $5, and I claim ownership over it. I relinquish ownership of the apple and you claim ownership over the apple.

But you cannot relinquish ownership over your body. You cannot say to the world, “I cease to own myself”. Okay, well you can. But you still own yourself. But you can say to the world, “I relinquish ownership of this blueberry plant”. Someone else is free to come along and claim ownership over the blueberry plant.