Ownership and Control

"Get off my plane!"
--President James Marshall (Air Force One)

If a person possesses property, then that person is often seen as owning it. But possession is not true ownership. True ownership requires that individuals have authority to dispose of the property as they see fit--as long as they do not invade the pursuits of others while doing so.

If someone else can, by law, forcibly influence my disposition process, then I do not truly own the property because I do not completely control how it is used.

Who is legally able to control the disposition of property constitutes the essential difference between capitalism and socialism.