Doctoral defence: Sergei Sazonov „The Entrepreneurial Theory of Ownership“

On 22 November at 16:00 Sergei Sazonov will defend his doctoral thesis “The Entrepreneurial Theory of Ownership” ("Ettevõtluslik omanditeooria”) for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Philosophy).

Supervisors: 
Associate Professor Francesco Orsi, University of Tartu
Associate Professor Helen Eenmaa, University of Tartu
Lecturer Mats Volberg, University of Tartu

Opponents: 
Professor Ralf Bader, Université de Fribourg (Switzerland)
Professor Jason Brennan, Georgetown University (USA)

Summary
This work presents the entrepreneurial theory of ownership — a novel approach to the philosophical justification of property rights. This approach belongs to a larger family of views known as “theories of historical entitlements”. Under these views, ownership is justified by referencing a historical event involving the owner and the object owned and creating a moral relationship between them in virtue of which the owner acquired an exclusive right to decide how this object shall be used — the right of private ownership. 

The central idea of the entrepreneurial theory of ownership is that natural resources are not immediately available for use. Before we can use them, we need to perform some preparatory mental work: we need to identify how a particular object's natural properties can help us achieve our ends. This work constitutes the act of discovery of the respective resource.

The entrepreneurial theory of ownership draws inspiration from the views of Israel Kirzner and argues that individuals who discover resources are entitled to control them because, without their input, the resources might as well not exist. It further shows how discovery plays an essential role in acquiring previously unowned resources and acquiring resources from others through transfers. Thus, property rights can be justified by referencing a single normative principle irrespective of their origin. 

The work develops the argument favoring the entrepreneurial theory of ownership and shows how it can be applied to private and common ownership. The work also discusses the most powerful existing objections against theories of historical entitlements and shows how the notion of discovery as the foundation of ownership helps to overcome them. Finally, the work evaluates the relative power of the moral claims of owners, justified by the act of discovery and other types of moral claims.

The defence will be held only in Zoom (meeting ID: 944 3807 1624, passcode: 142052).