This work offers an analysis of the Western formal system of private property and its moral justification and explains the relevance of the institution to particular current issues that face aboriginal peoples and the developing world. The subjects under study include broadly: aboriginal land claims; third world development; intellectual property rights and the relatively recent TRIPs agreement (Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). Within these broad areas we highlight the following concerns: the maintenance of cultural integrity; group autonomy; economic benefit; access...

This book is a comparative philosophical analysis of Melanesian communal land tenure and the 'Western' paradigm of private ownership. Inherent ideological tensions between Western development and communal ownership are highlighted while also drawing attention to conflict between principles of private ownership and environmental ethics.