Privacy and Property

Martin J. Adamian reimagines privacy—exposing how centuries of legal doctrine have tethered it to property—and calls for a more inclusive, dignity-based understanding fit for the digital age. Drawing on thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, and Jürgen Habermas, Adamian develops a more relational and dynamic account of privacy—one rooted in autonomy, dignity, and democratic participation. This framework helps unify disparate areas of privacy law, including tort, Substantive Due Process, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, by revealing the underlying assumptions that connect them. Through this lens, contemporary issues such as data privacy, reproductive rights, and surveillance are not understood as isolated legal challenges but as interconnected struggles over personal integrity and political freedom. Ultimately, the book calls for a new approach to privacy—one capable of responding to technological change while resisting the commodification of the private sphere.