Tensions between state and property in Locke’s Two treatises of government

Abstract

John Locke is usually thought of as the father of a certain liberalism that put the economy at the heart of the political question, contributing to what we nowadays understand as market economies. But a more problematic rendering of Locke’s greatest work, Two treatises on government, may dissolve such cliché and reveal other answers: how far can the State go in managing its citizens’ property? This paper will present three interpretations of the Two treatises that answer such question: the first one, of a libertarian bias, which believes in irrevocable rights in property fairly acquired; a second one, called communalist, that believes in an inclusive distribution of property by the State; and a third one, that presents itself as an alternative to the previous ones. This paper will subscribe to the last one, trying to make the case that there is no absolute right in property in the Two treatises – either in goods, action or life. Given certain conditions reiterated by Locke, the State could, yes, act not only on the material goods, but also on the life and freedom of its citizens, since there are possible claims on all these rights.