(image source: CAIRN)
Éditorial. Pourquoi penser et repenser la propriété ? (Maud Yaïche, Benjamin Castelanelli & Charles Delporte)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0007
First paragraph:
Entre 1897 et 1903, la politique coloniale dite du « grand cantonnement » opérée en Nouvelle-Calédonie scella une dépossession d’ampleur : les Kanak, populations autochtones de l’île, furent contraint·es de se replier au sein de moins d’un huitième de la Grande Terre [1]. Les terres spoliées furent alors réaffectées aux ancien·nes bagnard·es venu·es de métropole ou d’Algérie, dans le cadre d’un projet colonial visant à implanter une économie capitaliste sur la société traditionnelle. La perte fut double. Matérielle, d’abord, puisqu’elle impliqua la réduction brutale des espaces cultivables au détriment des Kanak. Symbolique et politique, ensuite, car l’imposition d’un régime foncier occidental, fondé sur la propriété privée, remplaça un régime collectif de la terre partagée au sein d’une tribu. Le droit coutumier Kanak s’opposait alors à une conception individualisée, exclusive et hiérarchisée de la propriété diffusée par l’État colonial. Cette histoire de la dépossession des Kanak est à l’origine des inégalités qui structurent encore aujourd’hui le territoire puisque ces dernier·ères représentent près de 40 % de la population [2], mais détiennent moins de 20 % des surfaces agricoles. Cette inégale répartition du foncier se double d’une inégalité de revenus, de patrimoine et d’accès aux ressources, dans un territoire où les Kanak connaissent un taux de pauvreté de 33 %, contre 9 % pour les autres Calédonien·nes [3].
La propriété privée, institution matricielle de nos sociétés capitalistes
L’idéologie propriétaire et sa contestation : une approche historique (Yannick Bosc)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0019
Abstract:
The idea of exclusive property, as enshrined in the Civil Code of 1804, was not self-evident: it was the outcome of a long and conflictual process that culminated during the French Revolution. Contrary to a naturalized view of property as an individual and absolute right, this article traces the diversity of property forms in use before the nineteenth century and the debates surrounding their legitimacy, their social function, and their regulation. It shows that the republican principle was, for the popular movement and the Montagnards, incompatible with the unlimited freedom of the property owner, which was deemed an infringement on the right to existence. Through an analysis of several revolutionary controversies, the article highlights how property lay at the heart of a political struggle between collective emancipation and economic domination. Finally, by acknowledging the contemporary resurgence of shared property practices, it invites us to rethink property as a social relation and a common good, rather than a relationship between an individual and a thing.
La propriété privée comme idéologie politique (Éric Fabri)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0030
Abstract:
Private property is one of those seemingly self-evident conceptual foundations of Western societies, so deeply embedded that its historical and contingent character is often forgotten. Yet it represents only one of many possible ways of relating to things. If it has come to appear “natural”, it is largely because the propertarian ideology has, since the dawn of modernity, operated to justify its existence. This article examines the specificity of private property and the history of this distinctly modern right, before turning to three of the main argumentative justifications for private property. Such an examination brings to light its fundamentally political dimension and provides the basis for a critical perspective on it.
De la nature au marché : les chemins heurtés de propriété dans la pensée économique (Arnaud Orain, Simon Brigode, Benjamin Castelanelli & Charles Delporte)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0040
Abstract:
This interview with Arnaud Orain highlights that, although property and its foundations occupy a central place in social organization, it was only late in the history of mainstream economic thought that it came to be framed within a genuine theoretical framework. In the eighteenth century, two conceptions stood in opposition: one grounded in the idea of absolute natural right (the Physiocrats), and another based on shared customary rights. The nineteenth century sanctified absolute private property without, however, analyzing it as a true economic object. It was only in the twentieth century, with the economic theory of property rights (the Chicago school) and later the Bloomington school (notably represented by Elinor Ostrom), that property became a workable theoretical framework, particularly in relation to ecological challenges and debt crises.
Entreprise, propriété et pouvoir (Jean-Philippe Robé)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0059
Abstract:
Private property plays a central role in structuring the firm. It determines who holds power within the firm. When the firm prospers and concentrates significant amounts of property rights, it is the source of corporate power. Finally, the notion of private property leads to significant conflicts over who holds power over the firm and how it should be exercised.
La surenchère des brevets d’invention comme signe du nouveau capitalisme intellectuel (Christian Bessy)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0069
Abstract:
Criticism of the intellectual property system has failed to halt the growth in the number of patents, which now apply to objects that were previously considered inappropriate. The text begins by outlining the factors behind this unbelievable extension, focusing on the role played by legal intermediaries in this field. Secondly, it characterizes the emergence of a new intellectual capitalism based on the asymmetry of legal resources. In conclusion, we link the rise of this regime of intangible capital accumulation to new forms of wealth expropriation.
« C’est à moi ! » : les premières socialisations à la propriété chez les jeunes enfants (Sophie Levrard)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0080
Abstract:
This article examines the early forms of socialization to private property among young children, drawing on ethnographic observations in preschool and elementary school settings. By analyzing linguistic and interactional practices surrounding the appropriation of spaces and objects, it highlights the early learning of social norms governed by power relations. This socialization to property, situated at the crossroads of the political and the pedagogical, shapes differentiated perceptions of ownership from childhood onward.
L’utilisation de droits de propriété pour la mise en œuvre de politiques d’atténuation des changements climatiques (Alain Karsenty)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0091
Abstract:
Greenhouse gas emission allowances constitute property rights, in the legal sense of the right to undertake certain actions within a regulated framework, insofar as they are emission permits issued in limited quantity by a regulator. They therefore differ from carbon credits originating from projects and intended for the voluntary carbon market, which are primarily communication tools for companies seeking to align themselves with “carbon neutrality,” even though they can also serve as vehicles for speculation, like any other financial asset. Carbon credits only become property rights when a regulator authorizes their use for offsetting emissions within a cap-and-trade system. The question of ownership of carbon credits—particularly in the forestry sector—has become a political issue in several developing countries, which are seeking to obtain a greater share of the revenues from the sale of these assets generated by private projects.
La concentration de la propriété privée: explications et conséquences
De la « pierre » au « papier » : quand l’immobilier devient un actif financier (Marine Duros)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0104
Abstract:
The article analyzes the financialization of real estate, characterized by the transformation of real estate into a "financial asset" managed by specialized companies: real estate investment funds. In France, this process, which began about thirty years ago, is based on a complex institutional framework – a set of regulations, organizational forms, and professional standards. The article demonstrates how this transformation of property ownership has led to real estate development increasingly disconnected from residents’ needs, notably resulting in an overproduction of office space at the expense of housing.
La propriété immobilière, un privilège ? Fiscalité et marché au cœur des inégalités (Rémi Lei)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0116
Abstract:
Housing ownership is becoming increasingly concentrated within the French population. While transitioning to homeownership represents the first step in accumulating wealth, accessing homeownership is becoming increasingly difficult. Both housing and rent values have been increasing steadily since 2000, driving up the transition cost and reducing the savings rate of renters. Financial assistance from family has become an important channel for transitioning to homeownership, leading to stability in tenure status between generations. The fiscal system is unable to mitigate this concentration. On the one hand, the property tax is regressive because the tax base was assessed in 1970. On the other hand, the tax scheme for intergenerational transmissions offers opportunities for the wealthiest individuals, who have higher levels of financial literacy and access to advice, to reduce tax burdens. Hence, the current tax system appears inefficient in mitigating the concentration of housing ownership.
Comment la propriété occupante nourrit les inégalités (Fanny Bugeja-Bloch)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0125
Abstract:
Access to real estate homeownership is shaped by institutional factors. Owner-occupied housing is reserved for households with stable and sufficient income. As a result, young people, single-earner or inactive households, and single-parent families are effectively excluded from it.
Du rêve de la propriété privée à la précarité résidentielle. Le cas du camping résidentiel en France (Gaspard Lion)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0135
Abstract:
This article examines the development of residential camping as a form of homeownership for a segment of the French working classes. While presented as a step up in the housing trajectory and a way to recover some of the attributes of single-family homes, it in fact confines residents to a form of “semi-ownership” that is legally fragile, economically depreciated, and socially stigmatized. Through this lens, the article highlights both the ambivalence of contemporary homeownership and the growing wealth inequalities that structure French society.
Marx et Proudhon : deux penseurs socialistes face à la propriété privée (Antoine Favier & Camille Lemonde)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0147
Abstract:
Marx and Proudhon, two socialist authors acknowledged Europe-wide, allocated a large part of their writings to the criticism of private property and of it bourgeoise justification. This article aims to explain the basis of those criticisms and the difference between both thinkers.
Défendre la cause des propriétaires : le cas des expulsions locatives (Camille François, Marius Besnier & Arnaud Niedbalec)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0155
Abstract:
In this interview, which expands on ideas developed in his book (François, 2023), Camille François discusses the recent rise in rental evictions in France. He highlights how changes within the state have contributed to this increase. By looking at how and why the actors involved in eviction procedures come to align themselves with the interests of landlords, he shows that the crisis of capital reproduction caused by unpaid rents is ultimately managed by the state through the use of coercion and force.
De la propriété à l’appropriation sociale des animaux : une perspective féministe matérialiste (Joséphine Guichard)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0166
Abstract:
This article proposes a materialist feminist analysis of the social appropriation of animals, going beyond their mere classification as legal properties. The appropriation of animals concerns their bodies, conceived as reservoirs of labour, energy and reproduction. The right of ownership over animals thus functions as an extension of the mechanisms of social appropriation of animals, considered to be appropriable “by nature”. The analysis distinguishes between individual and collective forms of appropriation and identifies the various agents involved in this dynamic of appropriation.
Comment les droits de propriété contribuent-ils aux inégalités ? Le pouvoir du codage juridique (Katharina Pistor, Benjamin Castelanelli, Charles Delporte et Maud Yaïche)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0196
Abstract:
Katharina Pistor explains how capital is not a natural category but a legal construct, made possible through the “coding” of assets by law. This legal coding is largely endorsed by private actors and often reinforces inequalities, limits accountability, and bypasses democratic processes. The state plays a key role by granting authority and enforcement to private arrangements. Rethinking property rights and their legal foundations is essential to restore democratic legitimacy and social equity.
Penser des alternatives au modèle de propriété privée exclusive
De la gestion efficace et durable des communs (Élise Olivier & Luca Cocco
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0210
Abstract:
This text examines the different economic conceptualizations of common goods over time. These goods have long been considered uninteresting or even problematic for society, following Garret Hardin’s theory of the "tragedy of the commons". However, more recent empirical and multidisciplinary work shows that another conception can be established, emphasizing that an effective and sustainable management of the commons is possible.
De l’usage coutumier à la reconnaissance juridique : penser la propriété chez les amérindiens Navajos (Marine Bobin)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0216
Abstract:
The Navajo do not consider land to be alienable private property, but rather a space for collective use, transmitted and recognised by the community. The article highlights the role of the concept of private property as an instrument of colonial enterprise. It also shows how Navajo jurisprudence subsequently established a coherent set of customary rules based on usage, lineage and community recognition.
L’institution des communs à l’épreuve du système juridique contemporain (Claire Annereau)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0226
Abstract:
The law seems inhospitable to the institution of the commons. On the one hand, these practices of community-based resource management run counter to the modern property relation, which shapes our link to goods, and the summa divisio between private law and public law, which structures our legal system. In the search for a legal space conducive to the commons, this article sets out the various paths opened by French legal doctrine for grasping and setting the practices of the commons in law.
Les Scop : une forme alternative de propriété du capital et un rééquilibrage du pouvoir économique ? (Anne Catherine Wagner)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0235
Abstract:
French worker cooperatives, or Scop (Sociétés coopératives et participatives), embody an alternative model of ownership grounded in use, collective control, and worker participation. Unlike conventional capitalist firms, ownership is non-speculative, locally anchored, and democratically managed. By subordinating capital to labor, Scop promote equitable profit-sharing and a strong collective ethos.
La propriété sociale, une utopie réalisée ? Penser la protection sociale avec Robert Castel (Arhur Jatteau)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0245
Abstract:
Until the 18th century, in a predominantly rural France, community-based solidarities existed, which the Industrial Revolution would shatter. A working class emerged, precarious and exposed to life’s uncertainties. Gradually, workers secured a set of social rights to protect themselves: this is what Robert Castel calls social property. However, since the 1980’s, mass unemployment, precariousness, and neoliberal policies have weakened this system. The realized utopia of social property remains alive, yet constantly under threat.
Des communs pour, des communs contre le capital (Maud Simonet, Charles Delporte & Maud Yaïche)
DOI 10.3917/rce.037.0256
Abstract:
In this interview, Maud Simonet examines the complex relationships between certain “commons” or collective goods and the logics of commodification characteristic of contemporary capitalism. Drawing on the sociology of associative labor, she shows how spaces praised for their inclusivity and lack of financial interest can nonetheless resemble the economic organization of private enterprises and the social relations they involve. Based on extensive fieldwork, whether regarding the lawsuit of Huffington Post bloggers or volunteer engagement during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and in dialogue with other studies such as those on the digital economy, she argues that the “commons” should not be considered inherently separate from capitalist organization, but rather as embedded in a relationship of “entanglement” and “hybridization” with it. At the same time, this analysis does not imply a systematic co-optation of the commons by capitalism; it highlights that the commons can also unfold within the framework of collective struggles.
Read the full issue here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.