A critical analysis of John Locke's theory of property as proposed in his Second Treatise of Government

摘要

In chapter five of his Second Treatise of Government John Locke proposed a theory of property that laid the framework for the capitalist system that exists in western society today. This theory suggested that labour applied to the land was an essential component of individual property. Locke's theory has many inherent problems which were identified by Pierre -Joseph Proudhon in his 1840 memoir on property. In this memoir Proudhon critiques Locke's and others' theories to reach the conclusion that 'property is theft.'