John Locke (1632-1704), English Philosopher

John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher and social scientist, has had the most profound influence on modern philosophy. He founded the school of empiricism in philosophy and applied empirical analysis to ethics, politics, and religion. He was the guiding light for the founding fathers of the United States during the American Revolution and his thoughts on politics and government are incorporated in the "Declaration of Independence" and the U.S. Constitution. This brief paper contains an explanation of John Locke's theory of property and examines how far the theory is reflected in the Declaration of Independence?

Locke's Theory of Private Property

One of his most important political theories is his theory of private property, as explained in his Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690). According to John Locke, although the entire earth and all its riches have been gifted by God to all men (and as such are the common property of the entire mankind), every individual has a "property" in his own "person." Thus the origin of all "property" is in each "person" himself. This "property" of the individual is the labor that he puts into his work during his lifetime. It is Locke's contention that nobody has any right to such labor but himself. He believed that every individual takes some part of the common "gift" that God has given to all mankind in the form of the earth's resources, and by adding to that resource by his own labor an individual makes that resource into his own "property." And just as no one has any right to take away a man's labor, no one has any right to take away this "property" from an individual, either.

Natural Rights and the right of property are the central principle of John Locke's political philosophy and he repeatedly emphasizes in his writings that these rights are the basis of human freedom. These rights are voluntarily given by the people to the government through a 'social contract' and governments exist only to protect such rights.

How Far is Locke's "Theory of Property" reflected in the U.S. Declaration of Independence?

The Declaration of Independence," a formal announcement of independence by the American colonists from British rule in the summer of 1776, is widely believed to be based on John Locke's theories of natural and property rights as well as the right (even obligation) of the people to rebel against a government that fails to honor the 'contract' between rulers and the ruled by failing to protect the rights of the people.

There is no doubt that Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the "Declaration of Independence" was deeply influenced by the Libertarian philosophy of John Locke and the wordings of the Declaration parallel the writings of Locke regarding "the inalienable rights of life, liberty and property." However, Jefferson changed the wordings of Locke's list of "natural rights" in a key way by substituting "property" with "pursuit of happiness." The change was deliberate and significant as it reflects Jefferson's belief that happiness is a product of a diligent pursuit of public duty and civic virtue rather than personal property alone. Jefferson's definition of "natural rights" was thus arguably different from John Locke's.