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Politics 2B Due date: 14 September 2010

How does Locke justify property rights?

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

1.

INTRODUCTION......3

2. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS3 2.1 Property...3

3. JOHN LOCKES JUSTIFICATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS...4 3.1 3.1.1 Limits on the right to private property ..7 Lockean Proviso..7

4. CONCLUSION..8

5. REFERENCE LIST..9

1.

Introduction

This paper examines the justification of property rights as presented by John Locke in his Second Treaties of Government (Chapter five). There are different approaches that provided the justification of property rights, such as the Libertarian approach, Hegels self-expression theory, the utilitarian approach, privacy approach and the Egalitarian approach. But for this essay the emphasis is on the libertarian approach to property which was developed by a British philosopher John Locke. Centuries ago, there have been various arguments about the capacity, rationalization and the understanding of private property and Locke was regarded as a philosopher who have the accurate justification of private property.

Property rights are of great significance in political philosophy and this paper will discuss the justification of property rights according to Locke. The limitations of property rights as well as the Lockean Proviso will also be highlighted in this assignment.

2.

Definition of concepts

2.1. Property

Property is a very broad term with various definitions. The Oxford Learners Dictionary defines a property as something that is owned by somebody. According to Locke, the term property can be defined in contracted and extensive terms. In contracted terms, Locke believes that property is a natural right resulting from labour. Whereas on extensive terms, he believes that property is all about a wide range of human wellbeing and objectives. Property is simply a collection of legal rights to control something. (Resnik, 2008:319).
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3.

John Lockes Justification of property rights

The main reason for the justification of property rights it is to elucidate how appropriated possessions became justifiable private property because in the state of nature before the government was established, all human beings had an ordinary entre to the land and the fruits which God has granted for them to exploit. Therefore, those resources that were granted by God were used for the survival of the individual. More about the justification of property rights will be highlighted below.

John Lockes justification of property rights is the libertarian approach to property and amongst various philosophers who have justified property rights; John Locke is regarded as the only one who holds a fundamental position on the explanation or justification of property rights, for the reason that, he had an important argument about property rights. According to Locke (1988), all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and the sole reason for the existence of government is to protect these rights. He believes that the property that is not exploited is a waste and a felony in opposition to nature. Lockes argument about property rights is well known and he instigates his argument by declaring that all humans was granted ordinary ownership over the earth, he believes that inhabitants encompass property in their own being. In Lockes expression: every man has property in his own person. This nobody has the right to but himself. The labor of his body and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. (Locke 1988).

From the above expression, Locke points out the way in which property is obtained and his believe that, the right to property is an ordinary and independent right. Property rights are crucial in lives of people and as a result the property rights are natural and they have to be confined by the state. According to Resnik (2008: 322), People have property rights with respect to their own bodies and the products of the labor. People can acquire new property through social
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transactions, such as bartering, buying, selling, or giving, or through the process of original acquisition. Original acquisition occurs when a person adds his or her labor to something found in nature. Private property was created in the state of nature by the approval of all humans who formerly shared in the innovative possession of resources. John Locke justifies property rights by saying that men have a right to the resources required to protect their lives. An individual may possibly legally obtain private property through the resource with which he mixes his labour and private attainment in the state of nature is primarily constrained by natural law. The only fundamental justification of property rights is the acquirement of private property. But how can people acquire property? According to Locke one can acquire property through labour which involves the labour theory. According to this theory, people are entitled to hold as property what- ever they produce by their labor, intelligence, and effort. The labor-theory justification has such a foothold, in the minds of scholars and the common person, that Becker calls it "virtually unchallengeable. (Frechette 1993: 202).

Things are detached from nature and be converted into private property when human being join their labour with particular things, and as a result property rights are essential in making sure that a persons wellbeing concerning the asset of labour is protected. People are justified in claiming ownership of the products of their labor because they have mixed their labor with those products, they have removed them from nature, and they have added value to them. (Resnik, 2008: 322).

The introduction of money also have an impact on property rights because acquire unrestricted assets and terrain with no apprehension of depletion. Money increased the conditions that lead to disproportion of ownership, where a number of people have more property than they directly need or can use, but it also lead to the elimination of the limits of accumulation (property accumulation). Money and land were increasingly becoming a variety of assets which rebound to the remuneration of the general society. Locke embraced gold and silver as money because they may be accumulated devoid of injury to anyone. Locke was aware that the introduction of money will bring constraints in the state of nature, he did not go into details about the constraints but he
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just argued that the government must find alternative ways to deal with the problems of disproportion of ownership by making sure that there is equal distribution of property. Locke is the classical defender of private property and the unrestrained right of person acquirement in a monetary economy. He believes that property becomes private according to three basic principles which are as follows: Firstly, as a natural law dictator, men have a right to the resources crucial to maintain their lives (resources that can assist for their own survival). Secondly, one may legally obtain a private property by using the resources provided and mixing them with his labor. Thirdly, private acquirement in the state of nature is primarily embarrassed by natural law, and Locke (1988) justify this third principle by saying that ... natural reason ... tells us, that Men, being once born, have a right to their Preservation, and consequently to Meat and Drink, and such other things, as Nature affords for their subsistence.

The right to private property is based in natural law. Consequently, the rightful restrictions to that right should be obtained from the law of nature as contained in John Lockes two treatise of government. In this sense the government cannot limit the right to property beyond what that the law of nature or the natural law requires. There are many problems and limitations with regards the Lockes theory of property such as unfairness. The limitations on the right to private occupation of land will further be highlighted below.

3.1.

Limitations on the right on private property

There are certain limitations of property rights provided by Locke in section 31 and 33 of his second treaties of government. This limitation includes the two provisos known as the spoilage proviso and the sufficiency proviso. These two provisos are the reasons that provide restrictions on property rights to land.

3.1.1.

Lockean Proviso

The lockean proviso is a segment of John Lockes theory of property and that of value property which indicates that individuals have the right to acquire property from nature (enough for their own survival) and the remaining must be left for others, there must equal distribution of property. Bogart (1985: 829) agues the the Lockean proviso is a positive limit on action and on property dispositions. Satisfaction of the triggering conditions -however those details may be worked out-requires that rectificatory steps be taken. Contravention of the Lockean proviso then would seem to involve a violation of rights. As indicated above the Lockean provisos include the spoilage and the sufficiency proviso which will be briefly analysed as follows:

The first proviso is the Spoilage proviso which aims to provide a maximum value of property that people need to take and use in order to prevent spoilage. Locke believes that the property that is not exploited is a waste and a felony in opposition to nature, so this proviso aims to limit waste. However all land that a man can acquire and progress by mixing his labour to do so, then the property be longs to him alone. According to Frechette (1993: 208) this proviso holds for all
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time; that land value is not derived solely from labor, that ownership of property is subject to the productivity criterion, and that desire for more than we need is, for Locke, the root of all evil. The introduction of money undermined the spoilage proviso because it was believed that money does not spoil and there are no longer several limitations on how numerous properties one may acquire and there is no limitation on the amount of land one may own. People may exchange their property for money. This proviso does not have a maximum value on the quantity of property that an individual may perhaps have.

The second proviso is the sufficiency proviso which is all about the limitations of the amount of property that anyone can take. Through this proviso Locke oblige that there must be adequate land for everyone. Locke declares that an individual has a right to suitable property from nature merely if adequate and as good quality is left for others to acquire. Locke also argues that there is another limitation on private property which is the right to a bare subsistence. Through this right Locke believes that if an individual has acquired extra property than required for his own endurance, and the other individual has not, the individual with no property automatically by nature has a right to the other's remaining property.

4.

Conclusion

The above discussion has shown and examined carefully the justification of property rights according to John Locke; as he is regarded as the thinker who holds a fundamental position for the justification of property amongst other thinkers. However, as this discussion has also shown, property rights are derived from the law of nature and it is a natural right for individual to acquire appropriate property. Moreover, there are various limitations of property rights which include the Lockean Provisos (spoilage proviso, sufficiency proviso and the right to everyone to an exposed subsistence). Furthermore, there are various reasons for Lockes justification of
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property rights which take account of the insanities of the state of nature as well as need to ensure security in life, liberty and property.

5.

Reference list

Bogart, J.H., 1985. Lockean Provisos and state of nature theories. Ethics. Vol. 95(4)

Frechette, K. S., 1993. Locke and Limits on Land Ownership. Journal of the History of Ideas. Vol. 54(2)

Locke, J., 1988. Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge

Resnik, D. B., 2008. A pluralist Account of Intellectual Property. Journal for Business Ethics. Vol. 95(4)