Locke Vs. Marx
For many political theorists and thinkers, the ideas of labor and property are central to the evolution of governments or states, and henceforth, very important aspects of human life. For some writers, the development of property is a direct result of labor, and government is set up to ensure the property rights of those who own property. Some view property and labor fundamentally or naturally connected aspects of human life, while others see it as merely a social convention. Each thinker also has different opinions about how property is acquired, as well as what the limits to property acquisition are. While one writer may provide the most fair account of property, another may provide a more feasible account of property acquisition and its limits. This essay will attempt to compare and contrast the beliefs of John Locke and Karl Marx on the ideas of labor and property with their connections to the aspects of the human condition, as well as determine who holds the most feasible or fair account of property.To begin, Locke believes that property is not a "thing", rather, it is a relationship between an individual and an item. Property is a natural condition in John Locke's state of nature, meaning it was present since the beg
In Marx's base superstructure model of a political economy, the forces of production (labor, technology) form the base of the political system. After the forces of production, come the relations of production, which are class inequality, property rights and the division of labor. Locke believes that the law of nature also sets limits for property acquisition. "The same law of nature that does by this means give us property, does also bound that property too." (Locke, 20). According to Locke, there are three limits to how much property one can acquire. First, deals with taking so many items, that they spoil from being hoarded and not used. "Nothing was made by God for man to spoil or destroy." (Locke, 21). The second says that one should not be a glutton and leave an abundance for others to take from when one acquires their property. The third and final limit says that one should only take only as much as you yourself can use or improve upon. If any of these limits are exceeded, the productivity of everyone suffers. However, the invention of money, according to Locke, can trump these three limits. This is because goods will not spoil since they can be sold, and workers can be hired for wage labor to collect more goods than any one person alone could. To Marx, property is not a natural or fundamental aspect of human existence. In a capitalist economy, property comes about through certain social relations between the capitalist and laborer. It is a social convention to Marx, and is not natural at all, in fact one of Marx's main movements into communism abolishes all property rights. One reason Marx would like to move from our current governments into communism is because of the alienation of labor. Alienation of labor alienates the physical laborer from the object he creates. The c
Some common words found in the essay are:
Unlike Locke, According Locke, John Locke's, , Karl Marx, Locke Locke, Marx Marx, According Marx, property rights, forces production, labor property, property labor, aspects human, according locke, account property, human life, division labor, limits property, aspects human life, forces production labor, labor creative process, naturally connected aspects, fair account property,
Approximate Word count = 1220
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
