property
9 Narrower Terms23 DocumentsScope Note
General statements dealing with several of the specific aspects of the property system. Material concerning the property system as a whole will be filed in Category 421. The term "property" is to be distinguished from wealth, material possessions, or any object of ownership. It is to be understood only in the strict technical sense of the jural relations of people with regard to some subject matter and governing the use and enjoyment of the latter. In precise usage, a "right" is correlated with a "duty" (if A has a right against B, B is under a corresponding duty toward A); a "privilege" is correlated with "no right" (if A has a privilege as against B, B has no right against A, instead of a duty); a "power" is correlated with "liability" (if A has a power as against B, B is under a liability that his jural relations may be changed by a voluntary act on the past of A). A "title" is a distinct constellation of rights, privileges, and powers with respect to some subject matter. A "type of ownership" refers to the social composition of the holders of a title, e.g., an individual, a partnership, a clan, a corporation, a state. A "property transaction" is an act which transfers a title to a new owner. A "property system" consists of every type of title, ownership, and property transaction recognized by a society with respect to all culturally defined classes of subject matter, and is not dependent upon the statistical frequency with which its constituent elements manifest themselves.