Ownership In Jean-Paul Sartre's The Cold War

Above all else, most humans are obsessed with possession. In biblical tradition, a famished Esau demanded a bowl of soup from his scheming brother Isaac. Seeing an opportunity for wealth, Isaac demanded that Esau trade his birthright in return for the soup; desperately, Esau consented. While this story seems hyperbolic when expressed in plain terms, Jacob’s thought process reflects that of most humans. Rather than show selfless love, his greedy, self-advancing nature compells him to unfairly extort a precious possession from his own biological brother. This patterns recurs throughout history—many wars are fought for material conquest. The Cold War, for example, was a decades-long period of tension between the expansionist material and ideological
While Jean-Paul Sartre’s postmodern proposal of the definition of ownership is intriguing, the vast majority of human thought, actions, and writings relating to ownership refer primarily to the material—things that can be bought, sold, traded or stolen. In order to properly understand the perspective of both classical philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, we must understand ownership in these terms; using a newfound, more abstract definition distorts the original and practical meaning of the word “ownership.” Intellectual development cannot be traded, given, or stolen—it can only arise from personal study. A person can envy another’s intelligence, but that envy cannot be acted on in any practical way. Limiting ownership to a material realm best reflects human nature, historical precedent, and classical
The major world religions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism—differ widely, but most strains of these religions offer tales of the dangers of pursuing material wealth over pursuing relationship. The aforementioned case of Jacob and Esau is but one tale of the dangers of materialism found in the Bible—Jesus famously warned his disciples against the dangers of storing up earthly treasures in favor of heavenly ones. Likewise, Buddhism depends on the idea of nirvana, or enlightenment, that can only be achieved through the rejection of material possessions. This near-universal religious decree against materialism has withstood the test of time. The wisdom that grandparents pass to their grandchildren does not frequently come in the form of a new television set—it comes in the passing down of a shared set of values. Humans have proven time and time again which decisions reflect the best of human nature. We remember Jesus and Mother Theresa well for their generosity, but we remember Jacob poorly for his greed. Valuing wealth in the short term ignores what objectively benefits human relationships and