It would be great "to have a productive conversation about intellectual property as adults interested in advancing the arts and sciences" but property rights have always come down to enabling making a living. Artists and scientists until a few hundred years ago had patrons to support their work or were independently well-off to begin with. Only when mass dissemination of art or the products of science became possible did it start to make sense to argue over property rights to these "goods".
I agree with pg that property rights and what is considered property change slowly. These rights have been quite well entrenched in most agricultural and, later, industrial societies.
For example, the first Google link to "property rights in the bible" leads to http://www.keyway.ca/htm2009/20090328.htm, which lists a number of Old Testament property considerations including theft, damage of goods, damage to sold property, etc. It appears these property rights were detailed and established, and extended also (it's to the link's detriment these aren't mentioned) one's wife, the wives of deceased brothers, children, servants/slaves, buildings, debts, etc.
These Old Testament laws gave way to or were aggregated with laws adopted from conquerers of O.T. Israel -- Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. These laws usually reflected a balance between benefiting those in power, the "good of society", and individual property rights (to enable a reasonably prosperous society, even for conquered peoples).
Attempts at massive overhaul of property rights have been attempted in the last century, leading to not-very-spectacular results. Incremental changes are best, I believe. And "rule of law" at its most basic comes down to property rights.
I agree with pg that property rights and what is considered property change slowly. These rights have been quite well entrenched in most agricultural and, later, industrial societies.
For example, the first Google link to "property rights in the bible" leads to http://www.keyway.ca/htm2009/20090328.htm, which lists a number of Old Testament property considerations including theft, damage of goods, damage to sold property, etc. It appears these property rights were detailed and established, and extended also (it's to the link's detriment these aren't mentioned) one's wife, the wives of deceased brothers, children, servants/slaves, buildings, debts, etc.
These Old Testament laws gave way to or were aggregated with laws adopted from conquerers of O.T. Israel -- Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. These laws usually reflected a balance between benefiting those in power, the "good of society", and individual property rights (to enable a reasonably prosperous society, even for conquered peoples).
Attempts at massive overhaul of property rights have been attempted in the last century, leading to not-very-spectacular results. Incremental changes are best, I believe. And "rule of law" at its most basic comes down to property rights.