Locke

State of nature

• State of perfect equality + freedom

• Liberty does not = license

  • Just because you are free doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want without consequence

  • Because we are all equal and independent, no one has the right to harm another person in their life, health, liberty, or possessions (because we are all pieces in the same natural order)

  • Because everyone is perfectly equal, everyone possess the executive power to punish a transgressor

Why government?

• state of nature = unstable because it lacks 3 crucial components:

  • 1. Established, known law

  • 2. Indifferent judge to apply law partially

  • 3. Power to back up judge’s sentence

• This chaos of vigilante justice makes us seek order

State of war

• When two people fundamentally disagree on what fair punishment is

• When someone renounces REASON + tries to put another person under their absolute power, they step outside the bounds of human nature

• In nature, war doesn’t end until aggressive party actively offers peace and reparations —> until formal resolution, victim retain a continuous right to destroy the aggressor

Labor

• Transfers something from common to private ownership

• Every person owns their own body + therefore the labor of their body (picking acorns off the tree, gathering apples)

• Human labor accounts for 99% of anything we use

• Uncultivated American land V. fully developed UK land

Spoilage limit

• Take as much as you need before it spoils

• Solution = by agreeing on common value of metal / objects that don’t spoil, people can trade surplus for something durable