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Private Property and the Law of Nature in Locke's Two Treatises: The Best Advantage of Life and Convenience

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  • B. Jeffrey Reno

Abstract

The study of policy lies at the intersection of economics and ethics, dealing, to a great extent, with private property. Policy design therefore assumes an understanding of the relationship between property and human nature, a matter of great interest to John Locke. Locke's teaching, however, is far from clear, often composed of a set of dual arguments. Yet close attention to the dualistic arguments is revealing: the two objects Locke associates with property—life and convenience—correspond to the two bases upon which he grounds the right to property: labor and consent. His argument reflects the changing economic nature of property, and also provides insight into the poles within which people behave according to the Law of Nature. Thus, a full explication of the relationship between Locke's Law of Nature and doctrine of property illuminates the economic and ethical principles that ought to inform policymakers and analysts.

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  • B. Jeffrey Reno, 2009. "Private Property and the Law of Nature in Locke's Two Treatises: The Best Advantage of Life and Convenience," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 639-663, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:68:y:2009:i:3:p:639-663
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1536-7150.2009.00645.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sreenivasan, Gopal, 1995. "The Limits of Lockean Rights in Property," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195091762, Decembrie.
    2. Pickhardt, Michael, 2006. "Fifty Years after Samuelson's “The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure†: What are we Left With?," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(4), pages 439-460, December.
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