John Locke's Means Of Property

Throughout history, there has been abundant ways in where philosophers try to change people’s perspective on certain topics. One of the well known men was John Locke; he was an English philosopher (1632-1704) who had different positive views regarding human nature. In addition, Locke strongly believed in natural rights of life, liberty, & property, and thought that all humans are all the same and that we are all born free, to do what we all desire without having to ask for permission to anyone, and also equal which meant that no none is to have no natural or political authority over one another. Thus, Locke believes that we are all born with three natural rights. He also held the belief that government has a moral obligation to guarantee

that people always continue to have sovereignty over their own rights, this included ownership of property that resulted from one’s own labor.

Furthermore, he was the first one to introduce property and the its provisos for just private right, these were that there must be enough to left for others, and that one must not let it spoil, and most of all that one must make its labor with it. On what is Property? Locke started to discuss the means of Property, by referring to the theory of “patriarchalism”, which said that only an absolute monarch (Adam) would have any right to property because God gave Adam total control over all the land. Locke could not engage into this theory and didn't agree to it. Locke argued that property is formed of a man’s life and his possessions. Therefore, he discussed that God provided for mankind all the same to have/own property.
One of Locke’s statements that he discusses is that of an individual’s own person. Example, when an individual takes away something from nature through his/her hard work, it will not be considered as “common property” of all mankind no more, because it would belong ONLY to himself. For instance, If an individual picks up (fruits) under a tree, the so called fruit will automatically belong to him at the moment they were gathered, rather than at the

moment when he ate them, cooked them, etc. because this effort of gathering is what permits to call them their possession.  The gatherer of the (fruits) don't need to acquire the permission of all the other men before he actually takes something to turn it into his own possession because this would be not be realistic at all, as men would suffer starvation trying to make sure every other man agree of his actions. Locke used an specific example to prove his point , “Thus this law of reason makes the deer that Indian’s who has killed it; it is allowed to be his goods who has bestowed his labor upon it, though before it was the common right of everyone. And amongst those who are counted the civilized part of mankind, who have made and multiplied positive laws to determine property, this original law of nature, for the beginning of property, in what was before common, still takes place; and by virtue thereof, what fish any one catches in the ocean, that great and still remaining common of mankind.. And even amongst us, the hare that any one is hunting, is thought his who pursues her during the chase: for being a beast that is still looked upon as common, and no man's private possession; whoever has employed so much labour about any of that kind, as to find and pursue her, has thereby removed her from the state of nature, wherein she was common, and hath begun a property”. (Locke, pg 252) This means, that an Indian who kills a deer has possession over that deer, the person who catches a fish is has possession over that fish, and the hunter that chases and captures a hare would have possession of that hare.
Second, Locke goes on stating that God gave the earth and its fruits equally to men in order to make use out of it.

Locke begins his argument by describing a type of property against which no other individual could possibly have claim in a world of political equality, which is the property that each individual have in his “own person”. Locke strongly believe of the idea of one having a property in oneself. Locke came up with the idea of self-ownership when he used it to explain how each man has a right to possess objects outside of one's self, on What is Property he states that,“This no body has any right to but himself. The labour of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Everyman has a property in his own Person. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joyned 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”.(Locke, pg 254) This shows that that property is formed of a man’s life and his possessions, and so God provided for mankind all the same to have/own

property.