John Locke’s Argument on Property
In the contemporary world, several arguments arise on the issue of property. People wish to own as much property as they can for diverse arsons. John Locke presents fundamental arguments on private property. Most of these arguments that he offers are philosophical and could guide people who intend to own private property. John Locke seems to present necessary advice in private property ownership. Some part of his arguments makes significant reference to the bible and teachings that the bible offers about property ownership.
Locke begins his argument by implying that humankind has a significant right to property ownership. He seems to agree that nature allows people to engage in private property ownership. His views also suggest that people should own property by using diverse natural methods. This helps them to respect and in turn enjoy owning the respective pieces of property. People do not need to establish societies that allow them to own property. Instead, it should just be natural for them to have the legit ownership of these respective properties. Nature does not prohibit people from owning property; individuals create confusions. These confusions present extreme challenges for people to own property with minimal cases of conflicts.
In his argument for private property, he states that there are appropriate ways for people to attain property. These ways of acquiring property are God’s views and include the notion of labor. He compares God’s kingdom to the right that people have in property ownership endeavors. There has to be equality while owning these properties. Locke realizes that no one is better than the other in property ownership is. God appreciates that the society he acres will be peaceful if ere is equality in owning any kind of property.
People who are able to engage in laborious activities qualify to have properties. These activities generate benefits that later make people to be content in their respective lives. These people become happy in owning these properties they appreciate that they deserve the properties. The diversities of the needs that people have in their lives create controversial in the property issue. Labor allows people to dominate each property that they wish to posses.
People use their respective hands when they labor making their work to be significant in their lives. No one uses another person’s hand in working for him or herself. The contentment that people have after completion of respective tasks proves the above contentment. This could be the reason why God ensures that people have their hands and use them to complete their tasks. The prevalent dilemma in the contemporary world will reduce if people accept the use of their hands. Locke also believes that people just need to understand their roles in owning their property.
According to Locke, there is always a superior power that offers adequate guidance to people who wish to own property. When people create other means of owning property, they disrespect God. This is inappropriate and presents several challenges in their lives. The right to property ownership also depends on the ability of these individuals to acknowledge that property belong to anyone. The realization that there is a predominant right reduces conflicts in property ownership. Locke validates his arguments on property ownership by making significance reference to the bible.
In the bible reference that he makes, Locke implies that God allocates property to people in accordance to the division in his kingdom. There is deliberate discouragement of selfishness in property ownership. When people display selfish traits they make others to do the same. This suggests that the societies that they live in will develop into undesirable routines. Selfishness will also encourage this people to engage in activities that make them own property unfairly. In the same argument that Locke presents, he suggests that people should not be wasteful in anything they do that relates to property ownership. Wasting property has several negativities in their lives. It also affects the respective relations that they have with the people they relate to them. Lock states people who become wasteful in the properties that they own are immoral.
The philosophical arguments that Locke presents in the arguments for private ownership continue to urge people to be responsible. He believes that responsibility pleases God who in turn increases the property that responsible people have. The increase in property that God grants responsible people is evident in diverse ways. Some of these ways include the ability to labor for lengthy periods. There is several evidence that things last for different times in nature. This suggests that people must be exemplary responsible in each property that they have. The responsibility increases the duration that they own the properties. If these same people become irresponsible, there will be significant reductions in the length of their property ownership. Later in their lives, these people will regret and keep wishing that they were more careful with their respective properties. Wasteful people receive punishments for wasting want God grants them. This punishment is likely to be in form of losing their properties in incomprehensible situations. The punishments ensure that when these people access property they become careful. Any labor activities that generates property for them will be significant to them because of their respective previous lose.
In the argument, Locke insists that there must be protection of any property that people have. It does not matter the intensities that people have to go through in protecting their property. This is an acceptable behavior since it ensures that people appreciate the respective values of their property. Protection of property also enhances the ability of people to display desirable traits of being responsible. Intense labor corresponds with the volumes of property that people can have. The possibility of people increasing the property that they already have depends on their willingness to labor. Anyone who does labor adequately fails to acquire property and in turn has nothing to protect. People are normally grateful when they are legit owners of pieces of property. The pride that they hold when in ownership of any property emanates from the labor they engaged in to own the property. The labor experience also allows potential owners of property to create effective protective procedures for their property.
John Locke questions whether man can survive in established governments. The establishment of governments is influential in individual property ownership. Minimal prohibitions for people who wish to own several pieces property are in existence. Nature seems to allow people to abuse certain laws that respective governments create. He highlights three reasons that encourage people to engage in the above abuse of government policy regarding property ownership. His first reason is that the structure of the laws forces people to compromise with morality in their lives. The laws encourage people not to follow the law instead of guiding the same people to be lawful. Lock also implies that the laws then become useless when they do not guide people in the acceptable ways.
The second reason that Lock attributes to man’s choice of disobeying rules is the punishment the criminals face. He implies that it is unfair for other people to be in charge of punishing people. He does not understand why other people would be responsible for punishing mortals like them. They are as vulnerable to making crimes that relate to property ownership as those people who they punish. This is not sensible making people to keep breaking laws. These laws should guide them in making wise decisions regarding property. The final reason that Locke gives is the possibility of failing to achieve a perfect justice system (Locke, II/5). Such possibilities present negativities in judicial systems because of the intense compromise that they reveal.
Locke believes that God had a purpose in his provision of land to humankind. This purpose includes ensuring that there is admirable equality in property acquisition. There must be adequate measures that protect people from unnecessary conflicts. Natural laws protect people from circumstances that interfere with peaceful co-existence in their respective societies. Laboring is most acceptable way of property acquisition. It ensures that there is maximum benefit when people work for themselves.
Money is as significant measure of appropriate ownership. It is always easy for people to determine its value in property ownership. Money does not allow people to waste it like other pieces of property. It facilitates accountability in the respective people who have the chance to handle it. There is an outstanding contradiction in what Locke suggests. According to him, equality prevails amongst people. This is a misleading factor; there are no equalities in property ownership. Different people have diverse multitudes of property depending on their effort. Not everyone can have equal efforts in their respective labor activities. This is why Locke’s argument of equality fails. He does not understand several factors that contribute to the abilities people have in engaging in labor activities. Some people could be willing to engage in extreme labor activities but have conditions that prevent them to do so. This people could be sick or even lack labor activities to engage in (47).
Ownership of property whether private or public increases the respect that people have. This implies that people should be extremely responsible if they own property. This does not imply that these should gain property in undesirable manners. Instead, it suggests that people must appreciate the value of laboring before acquiring their property. There needs to be extreme fairness in property ownership to reduce conflicts that surround property ownership. People should also seek reliable guidance before they own property to ensure that they have legal ownership of property. This will also help them to disown their natural rights of owning property.
Bibliography
Kramer, Matthew H. 2004. John Locke and the origins of private property: philosophical explorations of individualism, community, and equality. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press
