Locke on Property Rights and the Origins of Civil Society

Introduction: Property Rights in the State of Nature

In Locke's Second Treatise of Government, his views on property flow directly from his theory of political and civil society, which is grounded in natural rights and contract theory. The aspect of Locke's theory this essay focuses upon is property rights as they proceed from a state of nature. In a state of nature, individuals are under no obligation to obey one another and are themselves the judges of what the law of nature requires. As a result, natural law is poorly enforced in a state of nature. Section 123 of the Second Treatise takes notice of this (Locke, p. 40).

The enjoyment of property in a state of nature, according to Locke, is very unsafe and insecure. This insecurity makes a person willing to quit the condition of nature despite its freedoms, driven by fear and continual danger. This prompts individuals to enter into a covenant and charter to establish government — specifically to protect their private property within civil society. Even tyranny is sometimes tolerated to protect property, for reasons of safety and security. It is precisely this focus on protection that this essay examines. In section three of the Second Treatise, the power of the state grows specifically from the right to make laws regulating and preserving personal property, and to use force to defend it from both internal and external threats.

The Sanctity of Property and the Formation of Civil Society

In Locke's reckoning, property possesses a special sanctity, even when a person is seized in response to an unjust war. The right to property is so sacred that a conqueror may seize the person of an aggressor, but not his property — including the protection owed to his innocent wife and children for the man's unjust acts. For Locke, civil society was created specifically for the protection of property. In giving property a sacred existence outside of the state, he relies on roots that encompass life, liberty, and estate.

By claiming that political society was established to better protect property, Locke also claims that society serves the private — and therefore non-political — interests of its constituent members. Unlike in communism or socialism, the good promoted is not realized solely in community with others. Notably, the smallest community recognized in a state of war is the family. In this microcosm, property rights are absolute, and the greater society must respect them. This property exists outside of society in the state of nature. The state, therefore, cannot be the sole origin of property — it cannot declare exclusively what belongs to whom. Logically, if the purpose of government is to protect property, then property and the right to it must have an independent existence from society, as Locke spells out in section 134 (ibid., p. 43).

Roman Republican Roots and the Family as Political Foundation

Locke's philosophy is also dependent upon Roman republican ideas of what constitutes a virtuous society. Property is therefore subject to the dictates of the head of the family, who holds absolute power over both the property and the family — an authority that exists outside of the state. This father (pater) is the link connecting the family to the wider civil society. At a minimum, a sovereign person owns themselves, pointing toward the idea of individual civil rights that also arise from the state of nature and are independent of the state.

Such a philosophy does not automatically translate into democracy. Indeed, Locke believed that legitimate contracts could exist between citizens, oligarchies, monarchies, or tyrannies. However, his idea of civil virtue had profound effects on both the American and French Revolutions. Locke's ideas about the rights of the people and the role of central government provided strong intellectual support for both revolutions, and further contributed to the development of democracy in the Western tradition. In section 76 of the Second Treatise, Locke specifically recognizes the growth of society from the family and notes that the fathers of families eventually became political monarchs. While acknowledging this, he makes the point that monarchs needed to be, in a sense, "priests" — they were to reign but not to rule directly, so as not to jeopardize the basic property rights that existed in nature (ibid., p. 25).

Conclusion: Locke's Legacy for Limited Government

Out of this philosophy grow our present ideas of private property rights and of our right to improve and to enjoy property as the fruits of our labors. While not democracy as we know it today, Locke's Second Treatise of Government was a major step forward in the limitation of government and in the recognition that individuals possess rights that existed before — and are independent of — the state.

Works Cited

Locke, John. "Second Treatise of Government." Second Treatise. Early Modern Texts, 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.