OWNERSHIP (Part 1)
Ownership
is the state or fact of exclusive
rights and control over property,
which may be an object, land/real
estate or intellectual property. An ownership right is also referred to
as title. The concept of ownership
has existed for thousands of years and in all cultures. Over the millennia,
however, and across cultures what is considered eligible to be property and how
that property is regarded culturally is very different. Ownership is the basis
for many other concepts that form the foundations of ancient and modern
societies such as money, trade, debt, bankruptcy,
the criminality of theft and private vs. public property. Ownership is the key
building block in the development of the capitalist socio-economic system.
The
process and mechanics of ownership are fairly complex since one can gain,
transfer and lose ownership of property in a number of ways. To acquire
property one can purchase it with money, trade it for other property, receive
it as a gift, steal it, find it, make it or homestead
it. One can transfer or lose ownership of property by selling it for money,
exchanging it for other property, giving it as a gift, being robbed of it,
misplacing it, or having it stripped from one's ownership through legal means
such as eviction, foreclosure
and seizure. Ownership is
self-propagating in that the owner of any property will also own the economic
benefits of that property.
KEY WORDS
(1) Match each word
in the table below with its definition. (Definitions from: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Online
Dictionary)
WORD
|
MEANING
|
||
(A)
|
exclusive
|
the legal
right to own a piece of land, a building or a thing
|
|
(B)
|
property
|
to take back
property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being
paid back as formally agreed
|
|
(C)
|
real
estate
|
stopped by a
court of law from managing his own financial matters
|
|
(D)
|
title
|
property in
the form of land or buildings
|
|
(E)
|
bankruptcy
|
in the past,
to build a house and grow crops on land given by the government
|
|
(F)
|
homestead
|
limited to
only one person or group of people
|
|
(H)
|
eviction,
|
to take
something quickly and keep or hold it
|
|
(I)
|
foreclosure
|
a building or
area of land, or both together
|
|
(J)
|
seizure
|
to force
someone to leave somewhere
|
(2)
Place one of the
following words in the gaps in the sentences.
real estate exclusive title seize property bankrupt eviction
|
(1)
This room is for
the __________________ use of guests.
(2)
The notice said
'Private __________________, Keep Off.
(3)
We're going to
buy a piece of ________________.
(4)
If you wish to
sell the property, you will first have to prove your ________ to it.
(5)
They feared that
the loss would _____________ them.
(6)
After falling
behind with his mortgage repayments he now faces ______________ from his home.
(7)
Political instability helped the army to
___________ power.
READING
AND COMPREHENSION
(3) Read the following two articles about claiming
ownership and then answer the questions.
August 6th, 2007 – From www.filibustercartoons.comTags:
The Russian Navy used a
robotic drone to plant a flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean this week, in a move
that is supposed to serve as a symbolic territorial claim to ownership of the
North Pole.
As we all learned as
children when debunking the existence of Santa Claus, there is no land at the North
Pole, only sea. But recently many nations have started to vigorously debate
just who owns that sea space. The motivations are varied. Some view the Arctic
Ocean as a valuable trade route from Europe to Asia, while others are more
interested in the vast oil deposits that supposedly exist on the ocean’s floor.
Canada, Denmark, and now
Russia all claim to own the North Pole, while the US and most other countries
say the territory is located in international waters. Russia’s latest stunt is
unlikely to change anything. As the Foreign Minister of Canada so eloquently
put it, “this isn’t the 15th century. You can’t go around the world and just
plant flags and say we’re claiming this territory.”
Why Plant a Flag at North Pole? (New
York Times) By Mike
Nizza
Russia’s planting of a flag
at the North Pole was
more than your latest piece of odd news. A historian writing in The Los
Angeles Times says that
“Russia is hardly alone” in audacious, and slightly weird, claims to territory
over the years:
In 1776-78,
for example, Capt. James Cook established English claims to British Columbia by
burying bottles of English coins in several locations. In 1774, he erased
Spanish marks of possession in Tahiti and replaced them with English ones. On
learning of this, Spain dispatched explorers to restore its claim. Nearly 40
years earlier, in 1742-49, French military expeditions buried lead plates along
the Ohio River. The plates stated that they were “a renewal of possession” that
dated from 1643.
If history
is any guide, then, the North Pole is likely to become quite cluttered.
The op-ed
explains how the United States brought its own flair to territorial claims in
the 19th century. Lewis and Clark left a trail of branded trees and rocks on
their journey to the Pacific. And about two decades later, Washington sent a
brash captain to put an end to English claims to the region:
In August
1818, Capt. James Biddle performed a textbook discovery ritual: In the presence
of Chinook Indians on the north side of the Columbia River, he raised the U.S.
flag, turned the soil with a shovel and nailed up a lead plate inscribed:
“Taken possession of, in the name and on the behalf of the United States by
Captain James Biddle.” He repeated the performance on the south shore of the
Columbia, with a wooden sign declaring American ownership of the region.
QUESTIONS:
(1)
Why did a
Russian submarine plant a flag on the ocean floor at the North Pole?
(2)
What did
Capt. James Cook do to established English claims to British Columbia?
(3)
What did
the French bury along the Ohio River?
(4)
What did
Capt. James Biddle do in August 1818?
(5)
What is
your opinion in relation to the two comments posted referring to the second
article below?
- August
6, 2007 9:43 am
In 1926 Commander Richard
E. Byrd dropped a US flag near the north pole from an airplane flown by Floyd
Bennett. Byrd received the Congressional Medal of Honor for this exploit. I
suppose the Russians will say it was placed on the ice, not on land, even if
submerged.
— John Spear
- August 6, 2007 9:51 am
It’s because the Russians
are smarter than we are.
You see, we planted a flag
recently in a land called Iraq, laying claim to 80+ percent of Iraq’s oil, and
all it has brought is death and destruction.
There isn’t anybody up at
the North Pole to object, and there is oil in them thar’ hills. Maybe not as
much as Iraq, but it didn’t result in anyone dying.
— Carl Lee
(6) What are
your comments about the following:
1988
marked the bi-centennary of British settlement in Australia. As part of the
celebrations the then Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke attended the
Barunga Festival in a small Indigenous community south of Katherine. There, the
Chairmen of both the Northern and Central Land Councils, Galarrwuy Yunupingu
and Wenten Rubuntja, presented the Prime Minister with the Barunga Statement (a
statement about national Aboriginal political
objectives). On receiving it, Prime
Minister Hawke vowed that his government would enter into a Treaty with
Indigenous Australians by 1990. However, this promise would never be realised.
The
Aboriginal music group, Yothu Yindi wrote a song about the situation. This song
called “Treaty” went to number one in Australia in 1991 and had considerable air
play around the world. The song’s lyrics are below:
Treaty - Yothu Yindi
Music Vídeo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cbkxn4G8U
Treaty - Yothu Yindi
Well I heard it on the radio
And I saw it on the
television
Back in 1988, all those
talking politicians
Words are easy, words are
cheap
Much cheaper than our
priceless land
But promises can disappear
Just like writing in the
sand
Treaty yeah treaty now
treaty yeah treaty now
Nhima djat’pangarri nhima
walangwalang
Nhe djat’payatpa nhima gaya
nhe
Matjini ... Yakarray
Nhe djat’pa nhe walang
gumurrt jararrk gutjuk
This land was never given up
This land was never bought
and sold
The planting of the union
jack
Never changed our law at all
Now two river run their
course
Seperated for so long
I’m dreaming of a brighter
day
When the waters will be one
Treaty yeah treaty now
treaty yeah treaty now
ANSWERS:
KEY WORDS
(1) Match each word
in the table below with its definition. (Definitions from:Cambridge Advanced Learner's Online
Dictionary)
WORD
|
MEANING
|
||
(A)
|
exclusive
|
(d)
|
the legal
right to own a piece of land, a building or a thing
|
(B)
|
property
|
(i)
|
to take back
property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being
paid back as formally agreed
|
(C)
|
real
estate
|
(e)
|
stopped by a
court of law from managing his own financial matters
|
(D)
|
title
|
(c)
|
property in
the form of land or buildings
|
(E)
|
bankruptcy
|
(f)
|
in the past,
to build a house and grow crops on land given by the government
|
(F)
|
homestead
|
(a)
|
limited to
only one person or group of people
|
(H)
|
eviction,
|
(j)
|
to take
something quickly and keep or hold it
|
(I)
|
foreclosure
|
(b)
|
a building or
area of land, or both together
|
(J)
|
seizure
|
(h)
|
to force
someone to leave somewhere
|
(2)
Place one of the
following words in the gaps in the sentences.
real estate
exclusive title seize property bankrupt eviction
|
(1)
This room is for
the exclusive use of guests.
(2)
The notice said
'Private property, Keep Off.
(3)
We're going to
buy a piece of real estate.
(4)
If you wish to
sell the property, you will first have to prove your title to it.
(5)
They feared that
the loss would bankrupt them.
(6)
After falling
behind with his mortgage repayments he now faces eviction from his home.
(7)
Political instability helped the army to seize power.
READING AND COMPREHENSION
(3) Read the following two articles about claiming
ownership and then answer the questions.
QUESTIONS
and ANSWERS
(1) Why did a Russian submarine plant a flag on the
ocean floor at the North Pole? As a
symbolic gesture. The aim was to claim ownership of the region for Russia
(2)
What did
Capt. James Cook do to established English claims to British Columbia? He buryed bottles of English coins in
several locations.
(3) What did the French bury along the Ohio River? Lead plates with “renewal of possession”
written on them.
(4) What did Capt. James Biddle do in August 1818? He performed a textbook discovery ritual.
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