Skip to main content
Dictionary
Store
Blog
World
Help
Advertise
Chat
System Status
Information Collection Notice
Trademark Concerns
reCAPTCHA Privacy
Terms of Service
reCAPTCHA Terms
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Report a Bug
Data Request
Contact Us
Security
DMCA
© 1999–2026 Urban Dictionary ®
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Pro Customization
Create unique products with your own words and definitions
Preview
Personalize Your Design
Your Word
Your Definition
Private property is basically the stuff you, and only you, own but do not participate in using yourself though you get whatever benefit that stuff contributes to. For example, a factory is the private property of a factory owner, though the factory owner (boss) doesn't actually work within the factory and instead hires people (wage laborers) to work in the factory producing stuff, though the boss collects whatever profit the workers in the factory produce. It is also know as "impersonal property" and is considered the defining part of capitalism. Anarchists (most notably P.J. Proudhon) and communists contrast private property with personal property, personal property being things like the house you live in, your bed, your guitar, your computer, your shoes, etc. which you are actively using for yourself and thus have the right to exclude others. Private property on the other hand creates an illegitimate authority and, according to them, must be abolished.
Text fits
Save
Cancel