Question

What does Locke think justifies private ownership or property? What counts as property, according to Locke? What are Rousseau’s views on private ownership or property?

Answer 1

3. John Locke has given justification regarding private ownership or property against common supremacy. In the words of Locke, “every Man has a Property in his own Person,” More specifically, every Man has a Property in his own labor. Simply speaking, the premise of private property or private ownership is labor performed by the person, which is a regular life-sustaining activity. Private property or private ownership is the rightful supremacy over an item attained due to the labor attached to it by the person. The concept of property encompasses property in one’s freedom, property in one’s labor, property in one’s happiness, property in one's life, property in one's liberty, property in one's estate and, even, property in one’s time. Thus, early philosophers might have depicted today's saying, "this laptop is my property" as "I have a property in this laptop.” Locke emphasized protection of property rights by the government on account of labor. By protection of property rights, Locke meant that fundamental rights, and not just material objects should be protected by a government. This fundamental right incorporates the right to experience the positive outcomes of one's labor. This is because the exercise of fundamental rights facilitaes self-preservation and happiness.

According to Locke, the concept of property relates to the property in a person. More specifically, every person is not only the owner of his or her body, but also the labor performed utilizing the body. Attaching one's labor and property to a foreign item, convert's the item into the item of the person, due to the attachment or addition.

According to Rousseau, property is something achievable legally. Private ownership requires legitimate claim to one's possessions. A person has the right to claim ownership in the civil society in a given way, following the "right of first occupant." Claiming ownership leads to a "state of occupancy", which prevails when three essential restrictions or conditions are met. There should not be any previous inhabitation on the property. Need must be the source of private ownership, rather than greed. In other words, no person will be entitled to more land than they can work. The person claiming private ownership of a given land or property, legally, must work the same.