This paper discusses property as discussed by John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. It focuses mainly on the latter's views, but uses Hobbes as a point of comparison. In his "Two Treatises of Government" (1690), Locke sets forth a view that the state exists to preserve national rights of citizens. This was significant in his views on property, as we will see. Property is inherently the joining of the earth - which is common to all men - and the application of one's body - or his/her labor. The fruit of that union is considered property by Locke, who goes onto argue that property was, therefore, a natural right. Hobbes, on the other hand, argued that property was the effect of the commonwealth, which exists only through civil laws given by the sovereign. This essay will argue that Locke's account of the methods of and limits of property acquisition in the state of nature differ from those of Hobbes. Locke argued that property was a natural right; Hobbes did not. 8 pgs. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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