Mountain climber finds treasure chest on glacier

[Kramodlog]

Exactly, so why say you found them?

 

[MarkB]

Exactly, so why say you found them?

Because it's still illegal not to, even if they were stolen?

Sorry, I still don't see what point you're trying to make.

 

[Kramodlog]

Meh, illegal doesn't necessarely mean immoral.

 

[MarkB]

Indeed not. But "it's not stealing if I'm stealing from thieves" is a poorly thought-out moral argument at best. You're still helping to prevent the item from being returned to the person it was stolen from.

 

[Kramodlog]

Meh, after all that time, that person is probably dead. Dead people do not need money.

 

[Dioltach]

But their heirs might.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And again, the owner might not be a human, but a country, business, museum, laboratory, school or...well, you can continue to fill in the blanks. Suffice it to say, that the passage of a mere 50 years may not be enough to extinguish the possibility of the existence of rightful owners.

 

[MarkB]

Meh, after all that time, that person is probably dead. Dead people do not need money.

In which case, they won't claim it, and you'll get the items back, free clear and legal. And if they do claim them, then it would have been wrong for you to keep them. It's self-regulating.

 

[Kramodlog]

But their heirs might.

Why should they be entitled to it? Why is sharing genetic material makes your an owner of something?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Because that's what the rules of most civilizations say. If you live in a society, there are rules- ignore them at your risk.

You might as well be asking why you should be entitled to keep something if you aren't physically holding onto it at the moment.