Ownership of wealth is real only when one can part with it freely

Evidence

Then test it,’ said the beggar. ‘Give me your bag of gold.’ Amused, the rich man did. The beggar held it a moment — then handed it back. ‘There. I have given away a fortune and feel no loss, for my heart was full before and is full now. Could you give it away so lightly? If not, then you do not own the gold — the gold owns you. And that, friend, is your real answer.’ — , A Year of World Stories, 12081

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the economic-anthropology theme that ownership is defined by the freedom to give rather than to hold — parallels ideas in The Gift literature. — connects to: A giver of what he does not own will take what you own — , A Year of World Stories, 944; A person who has lost own freedom cannot wager another’s — , A Year of World Stories, 7027; Excessive property rights can block beneficial use rather than enable it — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 2284 (+9 more)
• FICTION: Classic inverse-ownership test that could seed a trickster story or a trial scene where a judge exposes false claims of possession.

Related

• Private honor is a self-love risking one’s possessions, not community regard (similarity 0.83)
• A giver of what he does not own will take what you own (similarity 0.79)
• Money is transferable freedom deferring choices of when, with whom, and for what. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Excessive property rights can block beneficial use rather than enable it #expands (0.60) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 2284
• Imprisonment only became conceivable once individual rights were recognized #expands (0.40)