키케로의 재산권론에 대한 연구 ― 『의무론』을 중심으로 ―

Neal Wood considered Cicero's theory of property to be economic individualism and atomism, and regarded Cicero as the first political thinker to emphasize private property rights and the state’s duty of protecting them. Wood's interpretation, however, ignored Cicero's philosophical and socio-economic contexts. Cicero did not presuppose individual and selfish human beings. His ideas are based on the Stoicism. Humans want to preserve themselves according to oikeiōsis. Concern for oneself leads to Concearn for others and eventually proceeds to universal humanism. Admitting private property, he emphasized how it would be consistent with moral good. For him, the property is not only adiaphora, but also proêgmena if it is useful. Cicero argued that property should be used appropriately, so that it is not only in his own interest but also in the community from the viewpoint of the kathêkon and ethics of liberalitas. Cicero understood that the natural law is based on oikeiōsis and recta ratio as a guiding principle of positive law. For this reason, moral obligations can be converted into legal obligations in his theory. Understanding Cicero’s theory as economic liberalism simply because he did not impose the ethic of liberalitas as a legal obligation on Roman citizens is an argument that does not take into account Cicero's imperialism and expansionist contexts. His ideas cannot be interpreted as modern individualism. Rather, it developed Aristotle's concept of ownership more critically and influenced the medieval philosophy.