Property has been a widely discussed topic by various political thinkers and theorists. It has been predominantly discussed by some thinkers in terms of private ownership and labor. Among many of these eminent thinkers, we have John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Karl Marx who have discussed the material existence of assets i.e., property at great length in their works. They have expressed the means of becoming owners of property and how this has affected the economic system. The concept of property has been a widely discussed topic by these theorists in order to lay emphasis on how property is acquired and by who.
John Locke describes the concept of property through self-ownership or property in his own person; in other words, this means that no one else has a right to that property. He says that an individual needs to put in physical labor in order to acquire ownership of property. In different terms, this refers to the amount of labor put into attaining property and the area covered by an individual reflects the amount of property going to be owned by an individual. He says, “the Labor of his body, and the Work of his hands, we may say, are properly his”. “As much Land as a Man Tills, Plants, Improves, Cultivates, and can use the Product of, so much is his Property”. By this, Locke means that till wherever a man can apply his physical strength in order to till, plant, improve, and carry out other beneficial activities on land, that land belongs to him. Additionally, Locke says that “God, hath given the World to Men in common, hath also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of Life, and convenience”. This is to say that God had provided man with the world and all the fruits it produces and “Beasts it feeds,” which no one originally had dominance over and was available to all of mankind. It was man’s duty to exhaust all the resources in order to provide for himself and to maintain property.
In the process of securing property, man has to exert his physical labor on a vast distribution of land. Through this labor, man acquires large chunks of this property which leads to lesser amount being available for others. This in turn leads to inequality of distribution. A man has the right over the property he has attained through his labor. Locke says, “he that is nourished by the Acorns he pickt up under an Oak, or the apples he gathered from the Trees in the Wood, has certainly appropriated them to himself. No Body can deny but the nourishment is his”. This tends to result in unequal ownership of property. Everyone has to individually provide for themselves and so the more property they possess, the longer they can feed themselves. The long hours of labor help man to obtain more property.
Among the other important thinkers, Jean Jacques Rousseau had a very different approach to property. He spoke of man solely in terms of his natural existence, when society had not evolved at all. He says that before looking at governmental set-up, we should think of man in an environment with no societal framework that helped shape him influence his behavior, beliefs, and patterns of interactions. In talking about man in his natural habitat, Rosseau says that the introduction of property leads to the beginning of a variety of social ills such as jealousy. This causes man to compare himself with others and what they have which creates jealousy and a fixation to be recognized which is called amour propre and is one of the worst developments because it creates a sense of dependence on others.
Social comparison leads to greater and greater inequality among men. This social evil also generates massive competition and the desire to be better than others. This vice of competition leads to a desire to dominate others and bring them down. Rousseau says, “Finally, consuming ambition, the fervor to raise one’s relative fortune less out of true need than in order to place oneself above others, inspires in all men a base inclination to harm each other, a secret jealousy”. The increase of social comparison has made humanity think of life as a “zero-sum game” wherein the achievement of one causes pain to the other and vice-versa. This feeling of dissatisfaction that lingers in the minds of individuals, is what causes inequality at a larger scale.
Unlike the other two political thinkers mentioned above, Karl Marx has taken a very distinct approach on property. Being a communist himself, he has shown how different economic systems over time have had a divided society. For instance, Marx talks about feudalism, which describes the division between the feudal lords and their peasants. He also talks about capitalism which divides society on the basis of two classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the bourgeoisie being the owners of the means of production and the proletariat comprising the wage laborers. The laborers worked in order to receive a wage from their employers. “Capital presupposes wage labor; wage labor presupposes capital. They reciprocally condition the existence of each other”. This concept of property ceased freedom from existing among the peasants since they were subjected to the command of their employers and among the workers, whatever wage was provided to them by the capitalists, would only suffice their “immediate consumption”.
During the Feudal system, the feudal lords were the owners and the workers were only provided with protection and no wage in return. They may have put in excess number of labor hours but received minimal portions of what they produced and protection in exchange. On the other hand, in capitalism, the proletariat was exploited by the bourgeoisie class. The wage worker received meager compensations which helped them with just about their basic necessities to survive being human. At times, these miserable workers produced goods in excess. This hard work was not repaid to the workers. Their efforts would go in vain. They would work in dangerous working conditions and receive no incentive to continue working.
In terms of conflict in society, Locke says that it is true that in every case, man can own property only when his physical strength and labor is put in and whatever area he covers with his physical labor, is all his. No one can question him or take it away from him. However, this may lead to spoilage and insufficiency if not wisely planned. Locke says this may lead to conflict since the distribution will be unequal and may leave very little room for others to occupy and utilize. Simultaneously, if excess is produced, there are higher chances of the good getting spoilt if not consumed within a short time frame. He says that a man should produce only so many goods as that before spoilage. He adds, “as anyone can make use of to any advantage of life before it spoils; so much he may by his labor fix a property in. Whatever is beyond this, is more than his share, and belongs to others”. Conflicts would arise if others did not have enough resources and land to carry out their operations to the best of their interest. Insufficiency leads to man stealing resulting in conflicts as well. If these property rights are not regulated, acts of stealing and scarcity will persist.
Rousseau, on the other hand, describes conflict in society in terms of social comparison. People feel the need to compare themselves to others and what others have expressing feelings of resentment, jealousy, and competitiveness. This competitive nature that develops is one of the biggest social evils. This competition results in individuals wanting to dominate over others. This comparison can lead to major violent conflicts because people compete with each other to be better than the other. People are not happy with whatever they have and desire more and more to overpower their opponent. They want to show that they are better. There is a sense of pride that develops in man when he knows he is better than this competitor.
Karl Marx mentions conflict by laying emphasis on the exploitation of the working class by the bourgeoisies. According to Marx, this society was determined by the base which is a part of the “base and superstructure theory.” The dominating class was usually the bourgeoisie not only because they were wealthier but also because they owned the means of production. They idealized a society wherein they were the masters and their workers were mere peasants who could be exploited. Their treatment towards these laborers was ruthless. The proletariat was expected to work for long hours under the scorching heat of sun, amidst piles of dust, extreme weather conditions, and harmful chemicals. In return, they received the most minimal pay to just about make two ends meet. Owners encouraged their workers to compete and not cooperate with other fellow workers and that their hard work was indeed its own compensation. These acts were encouraged for their own benefit. This ill-treatment towards the proletariat class eventually led to many class conflicts. Theses class conflicts take place with respect to the wealthy and powerful suppressing the poor and helpless. The wealthy would continue to stay in dominant power not allowing others to stand a chance to be wealthy and powerful.
According to Locke, one of the biggest aims of the government is to protect the rights of individuals. These governments were legitimate, and their sole function was to work in a way so that individual rights could be protected. In terms of property, their role was to protect an individual’s property rights. They carry out their operations based on the consent of the people. Protection of individual interests is of utmost importance which eventually helps man to make different choices knowing that his rights are sheltered. Locke goes further to explain the social contract theory. He says, “GOD having made man such a Creature, that, in his own Judgement, it was not good for him to be alone, put him under strong Obligations of Necessity, Convenience, and Inclination to drive him into Society, as well as fitted him with Understanding and Language to continue and enjoy it”. This is to explain that the government is established to provide for its people by safeguarding their rights.
Rosseau states that the government reinforces and makes things even worse i.e., the social ills brought about by property. The only basis or rationale for the government would be the freedom of individuals. He says that no government is legitimate. However, this holds true till the government fails to actually protect the freedom of the people. Additionally, Rousseau says that most governments are not legitimate because they do not seek to protect the freedom and rights of all individuals. Governments have mainly been established for the protection of inequality. Unfortunately, over time, this protection had increased and strengthened inequality. Also, people with property tend to exercise political authority over those who are mere workers.
Lastly, Karl Marx emphasizes that the moment man sees property, he tends to become greedy for more property. He wants the best for himself and wants to be known for his better possessions. Additionally, Locke says that the superstructure of the base and superstructure theory describes the role of the government by reinforcing conditions in the base which has an economic foundation. This simply means that the base comprises of all the productive activities performed for survival and the superstructure reproduces the conditions for this production. In this type of structure, the government serves the interests of the dominant economic class, the bourgeoisies. Marx states that the establishment of a government is mainly to support and operate in favor of the bourgeoisie class in order to continue exploiting, oppressing, and alienating the proletariat class. Taking advantage of the fact that the working class owns nothing, these owners exploit them and have a backing of the government. These workers are aware that if they leave, they will be replaced in no time and so they have no choice but to work in those wretched conditions and earn a wage to cover the bare minimum requirements to sustain.
