Private ownership brought increased liberty and stability, followed by the rise of social classes, but improved machinery is liberating society from labor. [1]
Private property initially arose from personal touch, expanding to include shared items like tools and weapons within the tribe before extending to encompass spaces marked by bloodshed. [2] Food was man's first property, preserved through cooking, drying, and smoking to prevent the decimation of the world by famine. [3]
Private ownership of land, stemming from agriculture, facilitated the institution of slavery, which in turn raised the master's standard of living and allowed for greater focus on social culture. [4] Early property disputes were handled through various methods, including destruction, force, arbitration, and appeal to elders or courts. [5] The idea that property is a spiritual handicap influenced European philosophy for centuries. [6] Respected private property was believed to embody the owner's personality, creating a sense of honesty and security within the community. [7]
Sleeping space was one of man's earliest properties and later evolved to land ownership assigned by tribal chiefs, eventually transitioning to ownership granted by having a fire site and a well constituted title to the adjacent land. [8]
Private property is essential to modern national life through the acquirement and inheritance of private property and land. [9] The preservation of private property is essential for the institution of self-maintenance, ensuring the future of mankind and civilization. [10] Man craves the right to use, control, sell, and bequeath personal property for security. [11] Private property necessitated government for security and regulation of human contacts. [12] All government, liberty, and happiness have grown up around the purely social right to property, which is not absolute. [13]
See also: UB 69:9.