The Hidden Rules of Ownership with Michael Heller

Michael Heller joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. This book explores the implicit social rules governing ownership. In brief, these rules are as follows:

  1. Attachment (“it’s mine because it’s connected to something of mine”)
  2. Possession (“it’s mine because I physically control it”)
  3. First-in-time (“it’s mine because I was here first”)
  4. Labour (“it’s mine because I worked for it”)
  5. Self-ownership (“it’s mine because it came from my body”)
  6. Family (“it’s mine because my grandfather left it to me”)

We discuss these six rules with reference to many examples of how they play out in the modern world, from conflicts over airline seats to the rise and fall of Soviet communism.


Download this episode.

Subscribe to Economics Detective Radio on iTunes, Android, or Stitcher.

The post The Hidden Rules of Ownership with Michael Heller appeared first on The Economics Detective.

The Hidden Rules of Ownership with Michael Heller

Michael Heller joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. This book explores the implicit social rules governing ownership. In brief, these rules are as follows:

  1. Attachment (“it’s mine because it’s connected to something of mine”)
  2. Possession (“it’s mine because I physically control it”)
  3. First-in-time (“it’s mine because I was here first”)
  4. Labour (“it’s mine because I worked for it”)
  5. Self-ownership (“it’s mine because it came from my body”)
  6. Family (“it’s mine because my grandfather left it to me”)

We discuss these six rules with reference to many examples of how they play out in the modern world, from conflicts over airline seats to the rise and fall of Soviet communism.


Download this episode.

Subscribe to Economics Detective Radio on iTunes, Android, or Stitcher.

The post The Hidden Rules of Ownership with Michael Heller appeared first on The Economics Detective.

The Wealth of Nations with Sarah Skwire

On today’s episode, I discuss Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations with Sarah Skwire. Sarah is part of the team tweeting through the book @AdamSmithWorks. We discuss the project and talk through the first few chapters of the Wealth of Nations.

Download this episode.

Subscribe to Economics Detective Radio on iTunes, Android, or Stitcher.

The post The Wealth of Nations with Sarah Skwire appeared first on The Economics Detective.