In order to fully come to grips with this conceptual problem (and the tendency by some to distort it), we must first understand clearly that “property” is one thing, and “ownership” is another.

When Karl Marx was expounding his ideas back in the mid-nineteenth century, he frequently referred to the socialist movement as being one that intended to do away with private property.

Marx of course was not talking about the destruction of property itself, but about the relationship between human beings, and the property owned and controlled by particular men.

Marx believed that if private ownership could be done away with, then there would be more property available for more people.

Clearly, this is not an idea that has gone away with time, and in fact it is still quite vociferously held by many otherwise very intelligent people, in various ideologically pugnacious forms – some merely annoying, and others downright destructive.

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