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One might sell their property or hire others to work it, but this can only occur after initial ownership has been made through use.
This theory finds no small amount of agreement in the twentieth century Robert Nozick's assertion that any properly justly obtained can be justly redistributed along whatever lines the owner sees fit. Nozick also maintains that people are ends in and of themselves, and must be treated as such by a just system. This also gives individuals full ownership of themselves and their labor (as in Locke's theory), meaning that a system of forced redistribution that allows someone to own another's talents and abilities is unjust. At the same time, resources are not the same as talent and ability; there is not a sense of innate ownership of anything external to the body. In order for resources to be fairly appropriated, then, they must have been fairly obtained initially. If such was the case, then absolute ownership...
Essentially, "Nozick argues for absolute property rights on the basis of the fact that people are ends in themselves" (Johnson, II. par. 5). As long as they are treated as such, a system is just even when it allows for the unfair distribution of property, provided that initial ownership was fairly obtained.
The scarcity of property has forced a change in Locke's theory. It is uncertain, however, that Nozick's argument serves a practical purpose for any but the wealthy in modern society. New theories will undoubtedly emerge to address this concern.
References
Johnson, R. "Nozick." Accessed 12 October 2009. http://web.missouri.edu/~johnsonrn/nozick.html
Locke, J. (1690). Second Treatise on Civil Government. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtr05.htm
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