What for does a man need property? Why does a man forget everything: morality, sociality and honesty in the race for more and more property? As the famous Italian thinker once remarked, "Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony." Why is the desire of property not satisfied even after accumulating millions of rupees? 

These are the questions which always come up in the mind of a common man. There can be three reasons with regard to the utility of property. The first is that property is required for the satisfaction of physical wants. The second is that property is required as a guarantee of a safe future. The third reason for accruing property is the most important one, and it is a social reason. Without property a man gets neither social status nor any prestige. 

Property in this third sense makes a man mad after it and he comes to view property cis the only human value. The first two requirements of property are universally accepted as it is not confined to consumption but for dominating and exploiting others as well. The former form of property is regarded as personal property while .6 liter is regarded as private property. 

Private Property in the Western Discours 

The modern notion of property dates back from the 17th and I 8th centuries and stems from the growth in Western societies of a commercialized economy. Simultaneously the notion of property as 'private' developed and it provided a legal framework within which commercial activity could take place. Since then a variety of bourgeoning views regarding the justification and utility of private property have been expressed by Western thinkers.

 These views fall under three broad perspectives: the liberal individualist perspective, the liberal welfare perspective and the Marxist perspective. The liberal-individualists like John Locke (1632 - 1704) and Adam Smith (1748-1832) argued in favour of private Ownership of property and justified individual's right to acquire unlimited property John Locke asserted that man's right to 'life, liberty and property' is a fundamental natural right and the state is supposed to guarantee the protection of this right.

 Similarly Adam Smith, the author of Wealth of Nations justified private property on the ground that it is an instrument of social progress. The influence of liberal individualist philosophy on subsequent generations was so profound that it came to be enshrined as a fundamental right in the constitutions of various democratic countries of the world.

 The liberal welfare thinkers like T.H Green (1836-1882) and J.S Mill (1806-1873) defended private property but they challenged man's right to acquire unlimited property. T.H Green highlighted the evil of Unlimited right to private property and pointed out that " an unrestrained right to property creates conditions under which some men fake an unduly large share and others are prevented from acquiring requisite property as a means of their self- realization, as in the case of landed property. This right become a hindrance to the exercise of freedom in society." Green, therefore, pleaded reasonable• restrictions on the right to (private) property in the interest of social good,

 The Marxist thinkers like the karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friederich Engels (1820-1895) view private property as the main source of conflict, exploitation, injustice and division of society into antagonistic classes. They, therefore, strongly plead for the abolition of private property. According to them, "private property has not existed from eternity and its origin was attended by the beginning of exploitation in the society."