Property issues in Lorenz von Stein's work “On the agrarian question” (a historical and theoretical excursus)

The subject. This article examines the concept of property in Lorenz von Stein’s work “On the Agrarian Question”. Stein’s treatise is analyzed not merely as a historical document but as a methodological resource for contemporary legal philosophy, agrarian policy, and state theory.

Purpose. The research aims to reconstruct, critically assess, and actualize Stein’s theory of property in order to test its heuristic potential for understanding modern challenges: property inequality, legitimacy of large-scale ownership, and the search for sustainable development models. A central objective is to determine whether Stein’s analysis can inform current debates on the social function of property and the role of the state as an arbiter between economic freedom and social justice.

Methodology. The study employs a systematic-analytical approach that combines historical-theoretical reconstruction, contextual analysis, and projection of Stein’s ideas onto contemporary problems. The authors compare Stein’s positions with those of his critics (Marxists, liberals, conservatives) and with modern theories (neo-institutionalism, sociology of law).

Results. Stein distinguishes two pathways for the genesis of property: conquest and economic activity (labor, house-building, permanent improvement of land). The latter, he argues, organically transforms mere possession into private property. A crucial social consequence is the conversion of economic inequality into legal inequality: “economic classes inevitably become legal classes”. The state, in Stein’s view, acts as an active transformative force, converting “unfree” feudal property into “free” bourgeois property through the “liberation of land”. The paper systematically reviews comprehensive criticism of Stein’s ideas from Marx, Chicherin, Mikhailovsky and other, concluding that although Stein’s project of a “social monarchy” was rejected by almost all ideological camps, his diagnostic framework retains substantial value. Conclusions. The study confirms the enduring relevance of Stein’s sociological approach to property rights, his analysis of the link between forms of ownership and social structure, and his theory of the proactive state. These ideas provide a valuable methodological resource for analyzing contemporary problems of property legitimation, balancing individual freedom with distributive justice, and defining the state’s role in economic regulation. Stein’s work is thus presented not as a mere historical monument but as a living source for interdisciplinary legal and social research.

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