The Edges of the Field: Lessons on the Obligations of Ownership

"Startling new answers. . . . Turns the inherently inegalitarian implication of property on its head." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In The Edges of the Field Harvard law professor Joseph William Singer offers a cogent look at America's complex relation to property and ownership. Incorporating examples as far-reaching as the experience of Malden Mills owner Aaron Feuerstein, the Torah, and the musical Rent, Singer reminds us that ownership is a curious blend of security and vulnerability between owner and nonowner. He proposes that the manner in which property shapes social relations of power is as important as ownership rights.

"In this compact, challenging book, a top legal scholar Joseph Singer argues that with property rights go human responsibilities...The result is a very welcome, readable achievement. It is also much needed." —Milner S. Ball, author of Called by Stories: Biblical Sagas and Their Challenge for Law

"[An] often surprising meditation on what haves and have-nots owe each other." —Booklist

"Singer courageously champions the idea that there must be some limitation to our economic doctrine of maximizing the shareholder's profitability. A brilliant and creative idea which will sustain for the long-term our economic system." —Aaron Feuerstein, president and CEO of Malden Mills, Inc.

Joseph Singer is professor of law at Harvard Law School and author of Property Law: Rules, Policies, and Practices. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.