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The Symbol & Reality of Property for Locke

ble from him or herself even though they may be also seen as a part of the self. In addition, Locke believes that an individual's attributes, such as freedom, equality, and the power to execute the law of nature can also become the subject of consent and therefore the subject of negotiation with others. Politics also derives from the conjunction of property and rights.

Locke develops the concept of property by extending it from the collective to the individual. Property is justified in Locke's thinking as a divine gift. He says that mankind's rights to the bounties of nature comes from God's grant in the Scriptures, from man's rationality, and from the fundamental natural law of self-preservation:

God, who hath given the world to men in common, hath also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience. The earth and all that there is therein is given to men for the support and comfort of their being (Locke 15).

This means, though, that the goods of nature are held in common and not by any individual. This original state of joint ownership has given way to private ownership, and Locke had to account for this change. Locke's solution is interesting and is based on the idea that each person has the right to his or her own person. Each individual has the property of his or her own body and of the work of their hands. Locke writes,

God gave the world to men in common; but since he gave it to them for their benefit, and the greatest conveniences of life they were capable to draw from it, it cannot be supposed he meant it should always remain common and uncultivated (Locke 18).

Such cultivation would be accomplished through labor, and this act of labor separates property from belonging only to nature: As much land as a man tills, plants, improves

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The Symbol & Reality of Property for Locke. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:54, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689541.html