Property Rights and Theory of Justice: the defense of property in distributive justice from the conception of John Rawls

Abstract: This article addresses the property right theme from John Rawls theory of justice. The objective is to analyze to what extent Rawls conception of justice accepts the defense of individual private property. In order to reach this objective, we first present the contours of the concept of property and discuss the understanding of property in the context of distributive justice. Finally, we analyze the defense of property from the conception of justice proposed by Rawls. It is intended to demonstrate that the right of property is a substantive liberty, to a certain degree and extent inviolable and unavailable, and that although Rawls does not consider that the right to property of the land deserves to be protected by the first principle, its formulation allows that right to be protected as a basic liberty, in addition to the second principle, to the extent that it enables the reduction of social and economic inequalities and the increasing of equal opportunities