Cultures and Cultural Property 111 © Society for Applied Philosophy, 2007 © Society for Applied Philosophy, 2007, Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2007 Cultures and Cultural Property JAMES O. YOUNG ABSTRACT In a number of contexts one comes across the suggestion that cultures are collective owners of cultural property, such as particularly significant works of art. Indigenous peoples are often held to be collective owners of cultural property, but they are not the only ones. Icelandic culture is said to have a claim on the Flatejarbók and Greek culture is held to own the Parthenon Marbles. In this paper I investigate the conditions under which a culture is the rightful owner of cultural property. I argue against the claims that cultures inherit cultural property. I also argue that a culture’s claim to own cultural property is seldom, if ever, founded on either practices employed in the culture or collective production of cultural property. I maintain, however, that the very value of cultural property for some culture can, in some instances, provide the basis for the culture’s claim on the property. 1. Introduction A culture is often said to own cultural property. In particular, certain artworks (includ- ing stories, musical compositions, sculptures and paintings) are sometimes held to be the collective property of the culture in which they have been produced. Cultural property can also include items of historical, ritual or religious significance, but I will focus on works of art. Obviously not all artworks are owned by a culture. The paintings on the walls of my living room are mine. Under certain circumstances, however, a culture said to be the owner of certain items of tangible and intellectual cultural property. In this essay I will identify and discuss the bases a culture can have for claiming collective ownership of cultural property. I am sceptical about claims that a culture’s ownership of property can often be based on inheritance, cultural practices or the collective production of property. I will suggest that the very value of property to a culture can, however, sometimes provide the basis for a legitimate claim to collective ownership. The notion that a culture can be the collective owner of cultural property is found in a number of quarters. One important source of the idea is a report prepared for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. One of the principles adopted there is that indigenous peoples’ ‘ownership and custody of their heritage must continue to be collective, permanent and inalienable, as prescribed by the customs, rules and practices of each people’. 1 The notion is also found in a number of documents funded by national governments. In Australia, for example, we find reports making claims of this sort: ‘Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property is collectively owned, socially-based and evolving continuously’. 2 The indigenous peoples