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John Locke On Property Essay

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To justify this ambiguous idea of private property, Locke states that private property is necessary because nature does not add to human value if it is not used. “For’ tis Labour indeed that puts the difference of value on everything… that improvements of labour makes the far greater part of the value…that the Product of the Earth useful to the Life of Man are the effects of labour” (Locke V, 296). Locke, however, states that the individual has the right to add his labor and gain as much property as he wants, as long as in doing so, he does not hurt another individual. Hoarding is allowed, as long as the objects and materials are used. Locke’s Christian morality comes through when he declares that no individual should waste the “fruits of the Earth” because others may have a use for them and there must …show more content…

The money economy is introduced as a means of stopping property from perishing and for ensuring fluidity of trade. Money contributes to generations of wealth for property owners, therefore, is of value to those who want to gain more land. Locke also states that money, in addition to being effective, only has value as long as people consent to it. “And thus came in the use of money, some lasting thing that men might keep without spoiling… and as different degree of industry were apt to give men possessions in different proportions, so the invention of money gave them the opportunity to continue and enlarge them” (Locke V, 301). Unfortunately, money incites many problems. Money allows for the “industrious and rational” to prosper, which leads them to increased wealth, yet, while at the same time, it depletes the natural resources available to others. As a consequence, man looks for means to protect property and that leads to the formation of government. By introducing money and creating “inconveniences” in the natural state, Locke purposely makes man come into a civil

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