“He Who Spends Too Much is a Robber”: Natural Law’s Stringent Norms regarding Ownership and Use of Property

This essay examines stringent norms regarding property ownership in the natural law tradition, focusing on Germain Grisez’s work. Drawing on Aquinas and New Natural Law Theory, it argues that private ownership is justified only insofar as it promotes human flourishing and serves the common good. Owners have a moral obligation to use superfluous wealth to aid others, guided by fairness and personal vocation. These principles yield specific, demanding norms for acquiring, caring for, and using property, independently of Christian revelation.