The Right to Property

2 minute presentation by Fraser Institute on the what John Locke viewed as property rights.
Locke argued that first and foremost each person has a property right over themselves.
Each person has a right of self-ownership.
For Locke, extending equal rights to all people included property rights, specifically self-ownership and the right to own one's own labour, which challenged conventional wisdom at the time that a King or Queen owned their subjects.
Locke argued no one should exercise sovereign authority over other individuals. Such authority would be against the law of nature, as in nature everything is independent.
He also promoted a right to own slaves as one’s own personal property.

The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Foundation.

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