CAN YOU OWN YOURSELF?

ABSTRACT. This article answers the title question in the affirmative. Self-ownership comes in two forms: one, negative, which denies that anyone else owns me; and the other, positive, which asserts that one has a right to dispose of oneself in any way that does not infringe on the like right of others. The notions of property, ownership and rights are explicated in ways that make the self-ownership thesis coherent and defensible. It is concluded that the positive right of self-ownership entails that one may voluntarily enslave oneself. pp. 60–66

Keywords: possession, self-ownership, voluntary enslavement, property, rights, obligations