Property is not a thing but a relationship — a bundle of enforceable claims against everyone else about who can use, exclude others from, and transfer something. Understanding how a claim becomes ownership, and what kinds of things can be owned, is one of the most consequential questions in political and economic life.
You own your house. What does that mean? It means that if someone enters without permission, you can call the police. It means you can sell it, rent it, renovate it, or let it decay. It means the government cannot take it without compensation. None of these things are properties of the house. They are relationships — claims you hold against every other person in the world, backed by the state’s willingness to enforce them. Property is not a thing. It is a system.