# Locke and Property
## August 26th, 2020
- *DR. KIRKMAN APPEARS IN A SUDDEN FLASH OF VIDEO-NESS*
- A few reminders:
- Posts on the discussion board are due this Friday! Don't forget!
- "There's already been some interesting back-and-forth, so make sure to check that out and get involved"
- Similarly, do the weekly response! That's due Friday, too!
- Next week's modules should open tomorrow or Friday
- Right now, we're going through the first few, groundwork-laying chapters of Locke's Treatise; next week, we'll start getting into his core political arguments
- We'll then finish up with Locke the following week
- What's on the docket for today:
- Checking in on the semester
- "This is a weird semester all-around, so I wanted to check in and see if you had any concerns or questions for me here"
- Last week I asked you to post your concerns, and a number of people were worried about speaking up in class - not wanting to sound dumb, waiting until they have something smart to say, etc.
- "Trust me, sometimes the smartest thing you can say is 'I don't understand' - I know you hear this all the time, but if you have a question, someone else in the class almost certainly does. The beginning of wisdom is admitting ignorance, that you're baffled, that you don't know. So, if you're confused, say something! I won't think you're dumb, and other people will be relieved that you asked the question for them!"
- "Similarly, if you say something I don't agree with, I'm not going to think you're dumb or wrong; even if you think you're going to sound dumb or like you have a half-baked idea, don't be afraid! You won't sound dumb; you'll sound honest."
- Not being on camera - "I definitely get it as a professor, I hate listening to my voice when I'm recorded, but it is odd not being able to see most of you."
- Locke's PROPERTY!
- Reconstructing Locke's argument
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- "It should become clear in later chapters that Locke's idea of property is a bit different from ours today"
- So, let's start getting into Locke's ideas on property
- First of all, Locke's way of talking about "property" in the 17th century was actually quite innovative for the time; people rarely talked about property back then, and it comes from the Latin root "proprietas" - literally "one's own"
- It becomes clear later on that Locke is using property in a VERY broad sense - we tend to think of property as something we physically own or have made today, but Locke
- Locke, though, seems to think property is anything one individual has a right to over other people - be it land, ideas, a hunt, etc.
- We'll get into what limitations Locke thinks apply here later; keep in mind that in Chapter 5, Locke is STILL talking about the state of nature, about a NATURAL right of property
- Locke's end goal, ultimately, is to defend an idea of property that is NATURALLY owned, and can't be revoked by the government
- If you want to be cynical, Locke's friend and patron the Earl of Shaftesbury would've been VERY interested in this argument, since at the time the Treatise was written he was embroiled in some legal disputes over land ownership
- England's idea of property has grown more liberal; there's a rule called "right of way" there that people are allowed to walk across (most) private property without being infringed upon (so long as they don't cause any damage or try to camp there)
- The broad point here, though, is that Locke will end up using property in a very broad sense - including "life, liberty, and estate," since they're all things that "belong" to us
- Locke's ultimate conclusion will be that the right of property follows from natural law, independently of any social construct
- How does he do that? I'll give you a few minutes to think about it!
- So, look for some individual claims Locke makes about property, and then reconstruct those claims into arguments
- Giving you a free one, he says at the beginning of Chapter 5 that God has given the world to "mankind in common" in the beginning
- "Locke definitely brings up God, but he somewhat plays both sides; he says that both reason AND the Bible reveal the same thing"
- My ideas (of Locke's ideas):
- The earth is shared in common between people (26)
- People should use the earth to "support and comfort...their being" (26)
- People have an exclusive "right to their own person" via natural law (27)
- Anything that someone puts their own labor into from a shared commons is something they have a right to (since their labor is from their own body, which they do have a right to) (27)
- An individual must take something for themselves before they can use it (e.g. eating acorns) (28)
- If the consent of all mankind would be required for eating, all would starve (29)
- Therefore, it is absurd to suppose we can't take something out of common unless we get the consent of everyone
- Therefore, there must be a way of taking
- Okay, let's piece this back together as a class
- So, some claims we identified as a class
- The "natural commons": originally, the earth belonged to every human being in common (25)
- People have a right to their own person (27)
- Similarly, people have certain needs, e.g. food, water, shelter
- Labor creates a distinction from the commons (27)
- Locke seems to think this follows from having a natural right over your own person, and since you're spending part of your life (and sometimes risking it) on this thing
- Also, since you "add value,"
- "No spoilage" - Locke thinks there's a LIMIT on how much you can take from the commons
- The "Lockean proviso" - take as much as you need, but no more than that, and don't infringe on others
- Locke believes you can add value to the land (significantly) by cultivating it
- Locke eventually gets to money, arguing that it evolved from needing a more durable thing to trade for perishable goods that would otherwise go to waste
- Locke importantly notes that money does NOT have intrinsic value, but is something we agree upon to exchange for goods that DO have value
- Alright, we're running low on time, but hopefully we can have a lively discussion about property rights and Locke on the discussion board, so I'll see you there!