John Locke: Defending The Right To Private Property

Although Locke states explicitly that God gave the world ‘to mankind in common,’ he defends the right to private property on the grounds of autonomy, efficiency and individualism. Locke is neither a conservative nor a liberal in the sense that these words are defined in today’s world. According to Locke freedom and equality both come first. He believes that we are all free and equal by the state of nature. This law of nature tells us what not to do (don’t cheat, steal, murder); it marks the limits. Thus it is not a coercive law, but an arbitrary law. Locke believes that God gave the world to the mankind, yet he also believes in right to ownership (private property). In Locke’s view, each person owns his/her body and all the physical labor
Locke is on a fine line between focusing on the individual and his best interest vs. the human kind as a whole. He restores this balance through the ideology that enough is enough, meaning if humans act reasonable and respect the common and one another they could all live in peace and maximize what God gave them at the beginning. If the world were not given to everyone, the full potential of the common wouldn’t be used.
Human beings are supposed to keep the peace and don’t harm each other (p.8). On the other hand they are obligated to punish one another. For the law of nature to work out, humans must enforce this law since there is no one else to do so. There are advantages to private property: It keeps without spoiling; it is tradable for what one really needs; it can be accumulated without waste; it creates and incentive to work hard. Nevertheless private property eliminates the incentive for people to share. This disadvantage leads to people becoming more indulgent in themselves and themselves only. Stopping sharing is the gateway for individuals to become more self-oriented and selfish. This would lead to the disruption of the law of nature, because people will in fact take more than what they need from the