Marxist Locke Essays - 2522 Words

Marxist Locke Karl Marx and John Locke both place a great deal of importance in both labour and property in discussing their political philosophies. At first glance, the two thinkers seem to possess completely different ideas on property, its importance, and the form of society which should grow from it. The disparity in their beliefs is evident, but they share a similar approach to labour and acceptable conditions while constructing philosophies which inherently attack each other. Locke’s suggestion that capitalism is a natural political progression can only be accomplished when the worker himself becomes a commodity to be traded, a transformation which Marx identifies as a major problem with capitalism. In looking at capitalism†¦show more content†¦I would say that while Locke discusses the necessity for the state to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of property, the necessity for the state follows directly from property acquisition. According to Locke, the need for protect ion is spurred by the idea of property. The protection of one’s health and one’s freedoms directly relate to the property in his possession and the threat that other people may show him in desire for that property. Labour itself also plays a large part in Locke’s analysis of property and thus, the analysis of the state. What constitutes property for Locke? â€Å"Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property† (Locke 19). Locke places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of labour, and the fact that its addition to goods constitutes property. He goes so far as to say that in analyzing â€Å"what in [products] is purely owning to nature, and what to labour, we shall find that in most of them ninety-nine hundredths are wholly to be put on the account of labour† (Locke 25). This intrinsic value in l abour is something we shall see later in Marx, and it is a characteristic of the two thinkers which relates their concepts. In a broad sense, it would seem asShow MoreRelatedMarx s Views On Private Property1157 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction English philosopher John Locke and German philosopher Karl Marx seem completely opposed in their views of private property. While Locke believes that private property is a natural right, Marx believes that private property should be abolished. Throughout this paper, Locke’s and Marx’s individual philosophies on private property will be presented and examined. Ultimately, this paper seeks to show the similarities between these thinkers’ viewpoints on private property and demonstrateRead MoreJohn Locke s Theory Of Theory And Social Discourse1253 Words   |  6 PagesIn 1690, John Locke, an Englishman, wrote his Second Treatise on Government which argued for a government featuring a societal sovereign that protected property. A half century later, Jean Jacques Rousseau published Discourse on Inequality, a piece that explored the proprietary origin and distribution of equality while subtly critiquing John Locke’s theories. By the time Karl Marx began to expl ore bourgeois society and its shortcomings, Rousseau was an established Locke critique who Marx’s On theRead MoreLiberalism And The Ethical And Logical Level Essay1332 Words   |  6 Pagesany specific concept of perfectionism, social utopia or the ‘’good’’. This is concept is often used in critiques of multiculturalism and collective rights movements. We will be discussing the theories of some liberal authors such as John Rawls, Locke, Mill, Nozick, and Waldron among others whose philosophies clash on the ethical and logical level. We will discuss the following proposal; ‘’the government can no more act†¦ to advance human excellence, or the values of perfection†¦ than it can to advanceRead MoreConcept of Freedom in Political Theory1679 Words   |  7 Pageswe find in our daily lives. Different political theorists, writing in different times, often of political turmoil, have considered freedom in many different ways. Three influential writers who took a normative approach were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. An important part of their arguments turned on their notions of a ‘state of nature’ – where natural law applied in absence of any organised political state. Hobbes (1651, cited in Brown, 2005), writing shortly afterRead MoreDifferent Ideologies From The Rise Of Fascism And The Marxist Revolution Essay1927 Words   |  8 PagesThroughout the course time of people have had vigorous debate over the type of government implemented and how different people should be governed within a society. We have seen huge variants in ideologies from the rise of fascism in Europe and to the Marxist revolution. We, as in Americans, are lucky enough to live in a time and in a form of democracy where people are able to have a say in what they expect the government to do for them. Since the birth of this country until now we have had plenty of debateRead More John Locke’s Views on Property and Liberty, as Outlined in His Second Treatise of Government4596 Words   |  19 PagesTreatise of Government (1690), have had varying interpretations and treatments by subsequent generations of authors. At one extreme, Locke has been claimed as one of the early or iginators of Western liberalism, who had sought to lay the foundations for civil government, based on universal consent and the natural rights of individuals. [1] Others have charged that what Locke had really done, whether intentionally or unintentionally, was to provide a justification for the entrenched inequality and privilegesRead MoreComparing the Ideas of Locke and Freire846 Words   |  3 Pagescontrast and comparison of the ideas of Locke and Freire. Prerequisite Skills: High School reading comprehension Course work/Reading: Locke, Spencer and Freire The first of these is the English philosopher-polymath John Locke (1632-1704), widely hailed as father of classical liberalism and modern secular society. Lockes ideas had a profound effect on the coming of age of enlightenment and no less a figure than Thomas Jefferson attributed to Locke many of the ideas that became the bedrockRead MoreCompare and Contrast the Philosophies of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Karl Marx843 Words   |  4 PagesCompare and Contrast the Philosophies of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Karl Marx In the idea of human nature; origin of state, the nature of government, the rights of regulation can be drawn as the reflection of insightful philosophies of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Karl Marx. By understanding this within the context of human nature, we can see their ideas play to how they perceive a modern philosophy. Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto illustrates the desire to build a society without economicRead MoreDrug Prohibition And Drug Legalization Issue1406 Words   |  6 Pagescreated? Here comes the question of- Why? Why spending so much money on a policy that is not working? What is the psychological error (or should I say brilliance?) of the internal dimensions of capitalism that requires the ban? This brings us to the Marxist notion of understanding a law. According to Marx- â€Å"Law, morality, religion, are to [the proletariat] so many bourgeois prejudices, behind which lurk in ambush just as many bourgeois interests.† Marx uses the word prejudice which is almost relativeRead MorePhilosophers: Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke and Karl Marx885 Words   |  4 Pages With great ideas, comes and follows great change. Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke and Karl Marx are renowned philosophers who paved way to the most prominent forms of government in the world. Through their literature they have created a huge wave of revolutionary ideas that exist in the several forms of government to this day. On one hand, Machiavelli advocates political absolutism. It is a form of government in which the governed accept the powers granted to a single ruler usually vested in a