ABSTRACT
Property’s job is to help people derive benefits from resources. But often it cannot do this work well. A core problem is an outmoded model of benefit production that treats the individually owned parcel or ‘thing’ as the relevant unit of analysis. In this paper, I argue for a conceptual shift from a property-as-thing-ownership (PATO) paradigm to a property-as-service-streams (PASS) model. I start with the simple point that resources are only valued for the streams of beneficial services that they can provide. Further, owned items can only stream services to their users when combined with other resources and entitlements, many of which are controlled by other parties. Keeping discrete owned assets at center stage misdirects energy towards allocating and protecting things, when we should be examining how to nurture and sustain streams.
The analysis proceeds in three parts. I start with what the PATO to PASS move entails as a conceptual matter. I then examine the role of complements and substitutes in the PASS reformulation. Finally, I consider what PASS enables us to see and perceive about property, with implications for future innovation. This revised understanding of benefit production changes how we view property – how it works, what it needs to do, and what strategies it should employ.
Fennell, Lee Anne, Property as Service Streams (July 3, 2023), Handbook on Property Law and Theory (Chris Bevan, ed, Forthcoming); University of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No 841.
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