Second Treatise By John Locke Essay

Eli Brown

Recitation 013

Steven Vanderheiden

Isaac Sours

Locke On Property Inequality In John Locke’s Second Treatise, Locke lays out principles of a liberal democracy. In the text Locke argues that individuals have natural rights life, liberty, and property. He then argues that these rights should be protected by a government, that also has the consent of those that it governs. Locke also argues that if the people believe that the government is no longer protecting their natural rights, they have the right to overthrow that government. The text also covers the concept of the social contract, where in exchange for protection from the government, the people agree to sacrifice some of their freedom to live in a society with rules and punishments.

A society that abides by Locke’s theories of freedom and property. Locke never promotes wealth inequality, nor does he address it in the text. Locke believes that individuals can acquire property and wealth through their labor and effort. This is because according to Locke, you own yourself, and therefore, can benefit from the fruits of your labor and effort. It is a natural extension of an individual’s right to life and liberty. Locke also argued that an individual should not take more than they need. In the Second Treatise, it says, "As much as anyone can make use of to any advantage of life before it spoils, so much he may by his labour fix a property in. Whatever is beyond this is more than his share, and belongs to others"(Chapter V, Section 31). Through this quote, Locke is arguing that a person should not take more than what they can use in their lifetime, and everything in excess should be given to others. This can be seen as evidence that Locke did not support extreme wealth

But he did not necessarily view it as unjust. Locke strongly believed that people should be rewarded for their labor and efforts. He believed that some wealth inequality is natural and unavoidable, and even desirable for a society. In the Second Treatise it says, “The labour of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property. It being by him removed from the common state nature placed it in, it hath by this labour something annexed to it, that excludes the common right of other men.” (Chapter V, Section 27). In this quote Locke argues the importance of personal property, and the right to acquire property through one’s own labor and effort. Locke believes that if the property/wealth you gain from the efforts of your own labor, is yours and you have a right to it because it is your property. However, he does not argue that one should benefit extensively from the labor and efforts of others. Overall, Locke does not specifically support or not support vast wealth inequalities. It simply provides a framework for individuals to gain property through the fruits of their own labor and