The Meaning of Ownership Creative Commons 3.0 Licence Democratic Enterprise: Ethical business for the 21st centuryCo-operative Education Trust Scotland

The Dilemma KATY, MORAG AND THE CAR

The Situation Katy needed a car for getting to university. She managed to scrabble together £250 and bought a second hand car, badly in need of some repair. She drove it to university one day. Morag, who goes to the same university noticed the car and asked around as to who owned it. Morag approached Katy and explained that fixing cars was a hobby of hers and would she mind if she could work on the car in the evening. Katy accepted her offer.

The Situation ctd Katy was stuck for money but offered to pay Morag for her work. We’ll work something out Morag said. Every night for a month, Morag worked on the car. By the time she had finished, the car was working perfectly and looked great. All that was left to do was to give the car a quick polish. The next day in university, both of the girls were polishing the car when a lecturer approached them.

The Situation ctd “Wow”, he said. “What a great car.” It turns out that the car was a classic and highly prized. “Look”, said the man. “I’ll give you £1500 for the car tomorrow.” The man needed to be at a lecture so he hurried off looking extremely pleased with himself. Katy and Morag looked at each other. NOW WHAT?

The Decisions Firstly: Who should decide if the car should be sold or not? Note: To answer this, you must decide WHAT YOU THINK is the RIGHT and FAIR thing to do. (Do not worry about what the most likely answer is or what the law would say.)

Right to Decide Option % Katy K Majority Katy K + m K + M Majority Morag k + M 100% Morag M

The Decisions ctd The decision has been made that the car should be sold. So... Who should receive the money?

Right to Money Option % Katy K Majority Katy K + m K + M Majority Morag k + M 100% Morag M

Some Thoughts Property is complex. It has several dimensions regarding ownership and control (the right to use, own, profit/benefit from etc). What constitutes ownership? How do we define it? What roles do capital and labour play in ownership?

Conclusion There is no single right answer. There are variations among individuals, groups, societies and countries. Labour has a role to play in ownership; sometimes a majority, sometimes a minority. Never zero. Generally role of labour in ownership is LITTLE RECOGNIZED by the Law (possible differences between WHAT’S RIGHT and the LAW).