Private Property - Political Thought

John Locke

Core Argument:
- Private property is based on self-ownership.
- It is a natural right that comes from labor.
Key Quote:
- “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.”
Principles:
1. If someone works on a piece of land, their labor makes it their own, giving them a legitimate claim over the land.
2. Locke does not support the unlimited accumulation of property.
3. Lockean Proviso:
  - “For this labour being the unquestionable property of the labourer, no man but he can have a right to what that is once joined to, at least where there is enough, and as good left in common for others.”
  - Meaning: Private property is only justified when there are enough resources left for others.
4. Assumes the natural world provides abundance, not anticipating industrial capitalism (where resources can be monopolized).
5. Acknowledges the introduction of money allows property accumulation to grow beyond immediate usefulness.
Summary:
1. Property is justified by labor.
2. People can acquire property only if they leave enough for others (Lockean Proviso).
3. Money enables greater accumulation, but property must be obtained fairly.

Core Argument:
- Private property is not a natural right but a social construct that leads to inequality and corruption.
Key Quote:
- “The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying ‘This is mine,’ and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.”
Principles:
1. The institution of private property created inequality in society.
2. Property was created when people started enclosing land and calling it their own, based on deception and coercion.
3. Property creates artificial hierarchies.
4. Key Quote: “You are undone if you once forget the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.”
5. Believes property leads to class divisions, where some may own a lot while others have very little, leading to oppression.
6. The wealthy establish laws to protect their property and secure dominance over people.
7. Advocates for the concept of the general will.
  - Key Quote: “Each citizen should have just enough property to ensure his freedom, but not so much that it allows him to dominate others.”
Summary:
1. Property is not natural; it’s a social invention that leads to inequality.
2. The rich use laws to protect their wealth and oppress others.
3. Private property must be regulated to serve the common good.

Core Argument:
- Private property is inherently exploitative and must be abolished.
Key Concepts:
1. Money possesses the power to buy and appropriate everything, making it the most valuable object.
2. Money can overcome the individual, making humans appear to possess all human abilities.
3. Money is the true agent of separation and confusion, bringing together contradictory qualities.
4. Critique of the romanticized history of private property.
  - Key Quote: “Black, white; foul, fair; wrong, right;” etc.
  - Portrays money as a “sweet king killer,” meaning it brings chaos and disorder to the world.
5. Criticizes the “nursery tale” explanation of property accumulation, arguing that it reveals conquest, enslavement, robbery, and violence.
6. The methods of primitive accumulation were anything but “idyllic.”
  - Key Quote: The “tender annals of political economy” present a sanitized version of history, where “right and ‘labour’” were supposedly the sole means of enrichment.

Core Argument:
- Challenges Locke’s idea of property rights originating from mixing one’s labor with unowned resources.
Key Questions:
1. What is the extent of ownership?
2. How does ownership through improvement work?
3. Spillage Problem:
  - Mixing something owned with something unowned should not automatically make the whole thing theirs (e.g., spilling tomato juice in the ocean doesn’t make the ocean theirs).
4. The role of scarcity: Challenges the Lockean Proviso of “enough and as good left for others.”
5. Infinite Appropriation:
  - If the last person to appropriate something worsens another’s situation, it could lead to a paradoxical conclusion where no one can appropriate anything.