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  • Essay / Property Theory in John Locke's Second Treatise on...

    In Locke's state of nature it was never necessary to suppose that possessions should be divided equally. Locke's notion of the right to property was crucial because it was considered on the same accord as rights such as life and liberty respectively. In doing so, property is subject to the whims of political processes, just as any similar right would require. This means that Locke was able to justify property inequalities by the need for political regulation of property. There was also a radical imbalance in Lockean civil society due to the two classes created by the unlimited accumulation of property. Locke suggested that everyone is a member of society and yet only those who owned property could participate fully in society. Those who did not own property were unable to participate fully, as this might give them the opportunity to use their new legitimate power to equalize property, going against Locke's fundamental belief that unlimited accumulation was necessary. According to Locke, because of the overwhelming abundance of goods, there has never been a need for a method of guaranteeing impartiality. The inequality comes from Locke's failure to realize that the gap would become more and more apparent as men used money to expand their possessions. This structure established two different types of class within society, upper echelon citizens who share sovereign power and second class citizens.