If you own your property, do you truly own your body?
In short: The logic used to justify private property often rests on a startling premise: that we own ourselves. If this self-ownership is the foundation of our rights, it raises a profound moral dilemma regarding whether we can treat our own bodies—and their biological components—as mere commodities for sale.
Professor The Lord Plant of Highfield explores the tension between 'self-ownership' and property rights. Historically, the argument that individuals have the right to private property has been bolstered by the idea that humans own their own physical and intellectual capacities. This logic suggests a radical conclusion: if we own our bodies as primary property, we should theoretically possess the authority to sell organs, blood, stem cells, or even gene lines.
The lecture situates this debate within a broader three-year study of religion's role in liberal society, specifically examining the friction between religious values and market economies. Plant argues that while faith perspectives cannot solve technical economic problems, they are essential for identifying the moral boundaries and consequences of markets. The core question is whether certain human elements should be exempt from the mechanics of trade.
A significant part of this inquiry involves redefining 'freedom.' Rather than viewing freedom simply as the absence of coercion—a criterion-less choice between options—Plant suggests that true freedom must be tied to human flourishing and purpose. This perspective challenges the liberal economic view that treats social justice as a "mirage," arguing instead for an understanding of markets that accounts for significant human values rather than just market efficiency.
Ultimately, the discourse seeks to determine if the body can ever truly be a commodity without undermining the very concept of self-ownership. By examining how churches and liberal thinkers view social justice and economic life, the lecture probes whether treating biological products as property serves human flourishing or merely reduces the person to a market asset.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Selling Yourself Short: The body, property and markets - Professor The Lord Plant of Highfield
- Also: Selling Yourself Short: The body, property and markets
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