Zurückliegende Projekte
Project Area A
Historical and conceptual foundations
What is and what was property?
The historical perspective helps to identify the (relatively) persistent patterns of property and its embedding, and also raises awareness of path dependencies and the limits of change. The following questions are particularly important in this context: What does ‘property’ mean in economic, legal, political theory, philosophical, and other (e.g., religious) contexts? Is there a common core to all concepts and interpretations of property, or do they differ depending on the disciplinary and social context?
Project Area B
Current conflicts and displacements:
Private property in contestation?
Within the globalised digital world of contemporary capitalism, private property has become increasingly potent and unrestricted. At the same time, it has become controversial in new ways. Questions relating to the legitimacy, benefits, and limits of private property as well as due restrictions on private powers of disposal play a central role in current conflicts.
Project Area C
Alternatives forms of ownership:
What are the possibilities, what changes are emerging?
At present, it is not just the dynamics and limits of private property, but also legal, institutional, and social alternatives which are up for debate. Forms of property such as common ownership (currently most often described as Commons) have gained a new level of importance. Also, the question of whether certain areas of life should be organised in terms of ownership is the centre of debates.