John Locke and Land Ownership

John Locke and Land Ownership John Locke in The Second Treatise of civilized Government makes several break arguments about what makes attain proclaimable, these ideologies differ from how bolt down self-possession puzzle outs in America but it is easy sacking to construe how Americas early days could have aligned with this ideology. In this paper I will focus on two refer principles that Locke believed in that are basic requirements for devour self-command.The first of these is that field willpower is obtained through grate and that items on the land have no apprise until comminute is employ and the trice describes governments role in land ownership as simply being that the dig up applied to land precedes government and government female genitalsnot dispose of the e pleads of the subjects arbitrarily and instead should be limited to securing the life and property of its citizens, and is besides necessary because in an ideal, lawless state of nature, various problems arise that would make life more unassured than at a lower place the protection of a minimal state.These two principles entirelyow for the easy identification of claimed lands. While at the same time provide the need and back upment to individuals so that they will want to go through land that they offer then harness through labor and thus make their own land. It is because of these reasons and more that land ownership through labor is a mustiness for a successful society and a functioning government. In battle array to get wind that these principles are being viewed and judge from the same sense of nitty-gritty a few key words need to be delimit as used in this paper.The term land ownership is critical to this paper and its meaning will be defined as, the owner of abutting property that has been improved upon from nature to provide for unrivaleds nutriment. The term labor will only be used in reference to labor upon an individuals land and will reference, h uman time and effort put in to a particular assess. The term government will reference only the actual control body that influences daily life based on policies and procedures they enact. At the last term reward will refer to, an item or exchange of labor promised or normally expected given in exchange for labor or with no expectation of any multifariousness of return.The principle that labor is a prerequisite to land ownership fits in perfectly with the needs and situation of the early American nation. Outside of key city areas a majority of this nations land was unwanted and unused bearing none of the fruits of labor and essentially leaving all of its value unclaimed and untouched. With a bounty of land larger than anyone person could truly nominate and apply labor to, it made sense to encourage land expansion. With land expansion individuals could claim land through labor and the value and goods on that land would no longer go to macerate as unused items that could have b enefitted society as a whole.The second principle helps to place limits on what the government can do at one time a parcel of land is owned by an individual. It is safe to plead that any reasonable person would not like to see their possessions and dungeon wiped away with one fell swoop, but if governments have no restrictions in the use of their power it would be all too easy to withdraw someone from their land, effectively robbing them of all their possessions and the livelihood that past labor has brought them.This is why Locke insisted that the government role in land owner ship stay put limited in scope only to the extent that is needed to ensure this doesnt happen. Without this assurance from governmental takeover acts similar to his could become streamer practice. An un still government might routinely perform these actions, unjustly claiming the land. This would resolving power in a diminishment of the value of labor and would remove the incentives to work land and wo uld result in a decrease in goods.Because of this looming threat it is make it that government must have some restrictions on acquiring land to avoid unjust actions and encourage a general sense of bank and security in the government. A government that is without citizens that have some sieve of trust and security provided by having a reliable, continual and trustworthy provide is bound to fail since this is a basic need of humans in general. Modern science can help prove the stress and superfluous energy expenditure humans endure if they cant find a sense of comfort, safety and belonging a study performed by Dr.Gilman while at Princeton University showed, humans that are in constant worry of loss of shelter expend an average of 2900 calories daily (Gilman 03/01/2012), along with this purposeless energy expenditure a lack of shelter creates stress that in turn creates a reduction in productivity. This stress can actually change the human brain reaction method resulting in it , going from more sophisticated but slower modes to the faster behaviors of the older brains when we are under stress (Gilman 03/01/2012).This change in brain behavior limits germinal thinking and essentially devolves human thought to a lower state this combined with the increased calories expenditure creates a vast pool of vitiated talent that when viewed in a large scale population level, results in a huge waste of resources that could be easily reduced by the assurance of land ownership and security. The easiest way for a government to realise this need is to let individuals provide additional goods to society by applying labor to their land thereby reducing their energy requirements and providing goods for the benefit of all.With all the complications that are possible when it comes to providing for the needs of the many, it only makes to allow individuals the freedom of land ownership that will help reduce their needs while simultaneously benefitting others. This theory of h aving some sort of fruit from your labor is fundamental to increasing ones value and having a desire to perform work that can be beneficial to all. A study from Yale University performed by Dr.Greene helps to illustrate just how deeply rooted this concept is into human psychological science, an individual will work perform work equivalent to their valuation of a reward. The study was meant to take root the nub of work an individual would perform without a reward versus the amount of work performed for a reward. The study concluded that, any individual who was delegate a tasked performed that task to completion with more detail and more efficiently when rewarded as compared to no reward (Mark et al. 1978).This study helps to demonstrate that human psychology insists that any individual will perform more work and and then be a more productive member of society if only that individual receives something for the labor they put in. As mentioned earlier if an individual lives under co nstant threat of having everything taken from them it is essentially making them perform labor on their land without a reward resulting in less work being performed and less goods for all of mankind, the only solution that removes this fear is placing limits on when and if a government can take someones land from them.With removal of this fear an individual can and likely will employ labor to its fullest extend thereby adding value to the land. It is clear that the benefits of land ownership as defined through the use of labor allows for the creation of the lift out society possible, one that can help to provide for mankind as a whole, increase the value and abilities of its citizens that actively partake and utilizes the resources at hap to the best of its abilities without waste and undue stress. A society that is free of these constraints and provided with the best ossible reward for work and sense of security can only pompousness and enjoy the fruits of their labor helping to create the best future possible.Works Cited Gilman, Robert. context Institute, The Inside Story Understanding the structure of the brain. weather modified 03/01/2012. Accessed kinfolk 22, 2012. Mark, Lepper, and Greene David. Lawrence Erlbaum, The Hidden costs of reward new perspectives of the psychology of human motivation. Last modified 1978. Accessed September 22, 2012.