Information, Uncertainty, and the Transfer of Property

THE origin of private property remains a mystery. How does a sea shell, a gold mine, or a whale become the property of a particular individual? Does private property come into existence through labor?' Does an individual come to own something simply by taking first possession of it?2 Or is property entirely a creature of positive law?3 A second important question about property, however, is independent of its origin. Few of us who own property actually have reduced it to private property from a state of nature (or ownership in common). No matter what theory justifies initial ownership rights, our enjoyment of most property rests on our ability to acquire it from someone else.4 Legal rules must confront the problems