"Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man"

Martin Luther King Jr. challenges the notion that property possesses inherent value or significance beyond its role as a tool for human flourishing. He draws a stark distinction between people and possessions, arguing that property’s purpose is ultimately to support and enhance life, not to overshadow or replace it. When society elevates property above human well-being or equates possessions with personal worth, it fundamentally misconstrues the role of material wealth. Property, King asserts, lacks personhood or intrinsic moral status, it cannot claim individual rights, agency, or dignity. Rights and respect concerning property are social constructs, created to enable a stable society, but they do not endow property with the same value as human life.

By describing property as “part of the earth man walks on,” King emphasizes its secondary, supportive role in the human story. Earth and its resources exist as the stage upon which people live, create, and build community, not as ends in themselves. When individuals or societies prioritize the acquisition and defense of property above concern for human needs and justice, they invert the natural order, allowing possessions to dictate life rather than serve it. King’s words call for a reorientation of values, one where human life, dignity, and freedom take precedence over material accumulation.

Additionally, he warns of the dangers of conflating personal worth with property ownership. Property must not become an idol. Societies obsessed with property risk legitimizing inequality and neglecting those who lack material wealth. In advocating for social and economic justice, King suggests that rediscovering the purpose of property, as a resource for human development, can liberate society from destructive patterns of greed and exclusion. The true measure of a society lies in its ability to ensure that property, while respected and protected, remains a servant to life, never its master.