“There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property”. – Blackstone
“Property is the root of all evil: and at the same time, property is that toward all the activity of modern world is directed, and that which directs the activity of the world”. – Tolstoy
“That government can scarcely be deemed to be free where the rights of property are left solely dependent upon the will of a legislative body without any restraint”. -Joseph Story
1.1. Introduction
In India, Right to property is a highly debatable issue since its insertion in the Constitution of India. For more understanding of right to property we have to first understand the meaning of the term ‘property’. According
…show more content…
Some thinkers focus on the individualistic view on property i.e. right to property has as significance as right to life and personal liberty. There can be no right to life and personal liberty without right to property (e.g. Locke). On the other hand some thinkers deal with the idea of utilitarianism in the context of right to property (e.g. Jeremy Bentham). This chapter deals with the ideas of various philosophers on right to property.
2.1. John Locke’s idea on right to property
For John Locke right to property originates in the state of nature. In this state of nature men were born free and equal. There is no authority of one man over the actions of another. Locke pointedly rejects the view that bases property rights on consent. In his eyes the right to property is natural, or pre-contractual.
He also argued that no one ought to infringe the right of another as all are equal and independent. According to John Locke, whatsoever a man removes out of State is that nature has provided and left it in, he had mixed it with his labour, and joined to it something that is his own and therefore makes it his
…show more content…
He had given two arguments for property- Natural right and social benefits. Under natural rights self-ownership of goods is created by man through labour. Under social benefits Locke points out that the increased productiveness of private land over common land implies an increase in the economic well-being of the community as a whole. If we relate idea of John Locke in Indian context, then state has no authority to take away the land of landowners without their consent.
2.2. Rousseau’s idea on Right to Property
Rousseau defines right to property as moral claim. For him property should be acquired through legitimate means. Rousseau explained that right to claim property involves right of first occupant. There are three necessary structures to establish this state of possession. There should be no prior inhabitation, ownership must be based on need not on greed and the individuals must actually work the land they claim.
According to Rousseau, concern for private property give rise to civil society and individual rights of the people give rise to a community. Each individual property is protected by the governance of the whole. Requirement of land ownership is necessary for the protection of a stable government. So, the rights of an individual must be protected. Rousseau advocated for the individual right to property which ultimately leads to stable
He divided property into two ways, private and common. Locke believes that God is in charge of the world. In chapter v. of property, Locke states, “God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage in life, and convenience.” Locke used labor to say common is a way to private property. By a man doing labor, he can call property private.
Rousseau presents this question “How is a method of associating to be found which will defend and protect-using the power of all-the person and property of each ember and still enable each member of the group to obey only him and to remain as free as before?” Thomas Paine says that “Government, on the other hand, is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices.” In order to grow and protect itself people join a society. For a society to have order and justice and remain equal, laws must be put in place, such that protect the individual rights of these people that they were born with. Equality is another belief that all these philosophies shared.
In any case of failure to protect the rights, the people were in their complete right to overthrow the government (Doc 2 & Pg. 630) In agreement, Rousseau believed that the government’s power also comes from the consent of the people, which he included in his book, The Social Contract. (Pg. 632) Rousseau included much more ideas that incorporated political aspects, but he also his thought about
These four great minds are what shaped the future and paved a new way of thinking. They carved the world into what it is known as today. They were the ones who said that people make their own choices and should be given choice. They are the Philosophes. The great thinkers were John Locke, Adam Smith, Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), and Mary Wollstonecraft.
The Enlightenment period gave way to many great thinkers, known in this era as philosophes, who fought to improve society through reason and their influential statuses. The main idea of Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Mary Wollstonecraft, was to change perspectives on topics of interest, that were previously discredited, in society. John Locke, who wrote the Second Treatise on Civil Government of 1690, founded the ethical idea that all men were entitled to their natural rights. Natural rights, from John Locke’s point of view, could be defined as fundamental principles possessed by each man that is set forth by nature itself. The idea of all men being equal in “what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose [manage] of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of nature…
John Locke interpreted that when citizens are given the right to property they are truly given all combinations and locks to keep their values and possessions safe from outside force such as the
While influenced by others the human race is individually minded, and has been able to obtain much knowledge at a substantial rate because of enlightenment. Throughout history man was able to shape the face of the earth by controlling others, but until the age of enlightenment man was not fully aware of the accomplishments he could achieve. In this period the ideals of society having a voice, changed history through bringing light to the genius and talent of not one but the vast majority of the world. To challenge one’s self-worth enlightenment must be achieved through leaving a cowardly stage to become mature. Presently, the enlightenment ideals have given many people around the globe a chance at a free life through natural rights and tolerance,
Since the ancient times the research of a ‘Just’ society has always been linked with the Natural Law, a corpus of eternal, universal, and immutable rules, as the Nature, valid for everyone. The precursor of the Human Rights can be located in the Natural Rights theorized during the Renaissance humanism. Even if some rights had already been recognized, or affirmed in ancient and previous times, they were strongly connected to some divine power or religion. Nonetheless there are some precedent examples of interest. The Magna Charta signed in 1215 by that King John of England, who committed himself to respect, contained among others in its list , the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property, to be protected from excessive taxes,
The American Dream and Property Ownership: As a child growing up in a single parent household I moved around quite often. In fact, I attended at least 7 different elementary schools that I can count. My mother made sure to instill in me how important my education and roots should be. So, it is from countless life experiences that have shaped my opinion on why owning property is an advantageous factor.
Book One of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau focuses on the reasons that people give up their natural liberty in order to achieve protection from threats to themselves and their property. This results in the formation of a legitimate sovereign where all members are equal. Rousseau believes that no human has authority over another individual because force cannot be established. He argues that no individual will give up his or her freedom without receiving something in return. I will focus my analysis on how the social contract states that we must give up our individual rights in order to obtain equality and security.
In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Locke focuses on the definition and function of property in chapter four. Locke wants to argue that man can attain private property in several ways (Socrates 6 sect. 25). Locke believed that there are two arguments for the acquisition of private property in a state of nature. First the labor-mixing argument and the value-adding argument (Locke 7 sect. 27). His argument states that if one mixes one’s labor with unknown land or resources, one then owns the unowned land or resources (Locke 7 sect. 27).
Rousseau’s main idea is that everyone should feel safe, happy, and equal even if it means sacrificing personal joy for the good of society. If these things are not present then the community does not work. The contract
Rousseau, one of the most leading philosophers during the Enlightenment, had indeed left many of legendries behind. Not only his writings had caused many of the reactions at that time, but also influenced many writers’ aspects of the French Revolution and the overall understanding of inequality and the General Will. As one of the chief political theorists during the French Revolution who was also influenced by Rousseau’s ideas, Abbe Sieyes, published the pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?” in 1789. This pamphlet was one of the documents that changed the world and lit the flame toward the French Revolution, as characterized by Joe Janes, a University of Washington professor (Janes).
says that “the human society is essentially a series of market relations; and political society becomes a means of safeguarding private property and the system of economic relations rooted in property” (Macpherson, 1). John Locke (1632-1704), another eminent political thinker based his notion of individualism on the premise of theological justification. He views all individuals as being created equal in the eyes of the creator and therefore God reserves the right to ownership of all the individuals. And therefore it becomes incumbent on the part of an individual to recognise the right and freedom of the other individual . The basic essence of his theory of individualism is that an individual is expected to live within the confines of a social
Moreover, as much as the acquisition of wealth for its own right is in opposition to what constitutes virtue in the Aristotelian society (Politics), this capitalist ideal is found present in the definition of the Lockean good life. Due to the fact that citizenship is the duty to be watchful of the government, and freedom is one of non-interference in the pursuit of a private life, the good life then is adherence to these ideals. Freedom and thus human flourishing, then, are obtained when the individual adheres to the nature of law in regards to being mindful of consumption, whilst securing their own property through the combination of their labor with the land. Under the common wealth they have agreed to, property will be secure. The individual is free to flourish and secure property.