The republican conception of the relationship between freedom and property

Abstract

This study seeks within the republican tradition, and more specifically in Rousseau's thought, the inspiration for a permanent problem, namely, that of the relationship between private property and freedom. This is so because property, in the same way that it can serve as a guarantee for the citizen's independence, when it is excessive it becomes a danger to the freedom of others. While many philosophers of Politics justify that only owners are citizens, others like Rousseau argue that all citizens should be owners, even if it is limited property based on work.  For the republicanism of our time, the Rousseauian motto that no citizen should ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself, remains a valid principle. Classical republicanism used to privilege land ownership, considering that small owners were the best citizens. However, the current economic conditions force us to look for more imaginative formulas to guarantee the same republican ideal of autonomy and non-domination.