2nd Treatise of Government

3 Pages 773 Words

Tim Thurn
The Second Treatise
November 6, 2001
Darrell Moore
The Second Treatise of Government
Chapters five and six

After reading John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government chapters five and six, there are many important ideas and viewpoints that deal with property and paternal power. Due to the fact that I am at a loss for knowledge in these subjects, rather than critique each chapter, I plan to summarize what I think to be the main ideology, attitude, and thoughts to each chapter. By doing this I hope that I can achieve a better understanding of Locke’s way of thinking about these significant topics.
Chapter five is of course labeled “of Property” because that is the main theme and topic of discussion for that section. Locke begins his discussion with a quick suggestion of how the bible distinguishes the right to have property. He claims that God has given the earth to “Mankind in Common”, and that it should be used for the “Support and Comfort of their being”. (Locke, sec 25-26) The next step Locke takes is to somewhat clarify what he feels property is. Locke states that certainly you have ownership over your own body and the labor that you use with your body must therefore be yours as well. Thus, if you are using your body, which is your property, to create something, then that something that you have created must be your property. Throughout this thorough discussion of property, Locke also goes to great lengths to clarify ideas about measuring property, appropriation of property, and things like money and how it is involved with property.
The sixth chapter that is titled “of Paternal Power,” may have a deceiving title because it isn’t exactly only paternal power but more about parental guidance of both the mother and father. Locke starts to talk about freedom in a long procession that is somewhat confusing, but at the same time it makes a lot of sense. What I take to be the ...