The Role Of Property In The Second Treatise By John Locke
John Locke’s theory of property is tailored to the natural law of obligation. Locke, in The Second Treatise, develops his argument by discussing how God created humans within the state of nature and gave them a right to self-preservation, including a right to property. It is stated that Locke gave mankind the ability to use nature’s products. This introduced the right of labor. The value of individual labor is conditional within the terms of appropriation. In order for society to override particular limitations, that will be discussed further, the invention of money is introduced. Property will allow mankind to buy the labor of their neighbors and thus facilitate jobs. As long as mankind does not violate the natural law of nature, given by
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According to Locke’s theory, the invention of money will allow for private property to be executed in society. The invention of money is the idea that you can accumulate money and keep it without one being conscientious of it spoiling and for that reason, never violating another’s right to self-preservation. Money, in Locke’s terms, refers to the use of gold and silver as a meaning of exchange and accumulation. A new form of private property is the ownership of a piece of land. Containing ownership of land is beneficial for the reasons that by one taking care of their land, this will better their land and increase their value of property. Locke (1960) states “the invention of money, and the tacit agreement of men to put a value on it, introduced (by consent) larger possessions, and a right to them” (293). This concept, as well as money, does not spoil and having more than you can use no longer violates the spoilage rule. One can collect all the apples from an apple tree, as in the example used above, but instead of letting the unused apples spoil, one can exchange them for coins which do not spoil. This way, the man who claimed the apples did not violate the spoilage rule because he used the apples by selling them for coins. However, the creation of money has made it hard to tell if one is violating the spoilage rule since currency does not spoil. Private property becomes an industry of development in itself. Land has the ability to improve and become more
According to Locke’s theory, the invention of money will allow for private property to be executed in society. The invention of money is the idea that you can accumulate money and keep it without one being conscientious of it spoiling and for that reason, never violating another’s right to self-preservation. Money, in Locke’s terms, refers to the use of gold and silver as a meaning of exchange and accumulation. A new form of private property is the ownership of a piece of land. Containing ownership of land is beneficial for the reasons that by one taking care of their land, this will better their land and increase their value of property. Locke (1960) states “the invention of money, and the tacit agreement of men to put a value on it, introduced (by consent) larger possessions, and a right to them” (293). This concept, as well as money, does not spoil and having more than you can use no longer violates the spoilage rule. One can collect all the apples from an apple tree, as in the example used above, but instead of letting the unused apples spoil, one can exchange them for coins which do not spoil. This way, the man who claimed the apples did not violate the spoilage rule because he used the apples by selling them for coins. However, the creation of money has made it hard to tell if one is violating the spoilage rule since currency does not spoil. Private property becomes an industry of development in itself. Land has the ability to improve and become more