Locke and America

More so than perhaps any other single political philosopher, John Locke's vision of government was enacted as the founding fathers of America drew from Lockeian ideals when writing the Constitution. It is slightly ironic, then, that the country that Locke's views helped shaped was the land that grounded many of his arguments within the Second Treatise of Government. Using America as a reference point, Locke was able to make a cohesive argument for the state of human nature and the definition of property. It is with these two concepts a priori that Locke is able to argue that the role of government is to protect people's personal property and that, ultimately, it is in the public's best interest. I argue that having the New World available at the time of his theories gave Locke a focus for his ideal model; a world ripe with God's gifts but lacking human resources. While looking at America in terms of this instrumental value may have been a solid foundation for his model, I contend that his view is also dependent on the idea that there is always a place in which to expand. Though this may have seemed true in Locke's time, it has since been proven largely inaccurate. Had Locke based his stance within the bounds of England, there would not be an undertone to his work of limitless accumulation, which the discovery of America allowed him to believe. Since much of this country's Constitution is steeped in Lockeian ideals, the undercurrents of this mentality still exist in modern thought. This results in the political structure of America being devastatingly ill equipped to deal with environmental troubles in terms of resource management.

Much of Locke's theories are rooted in his assumed state of nature. Instead of speculating on this state, he points to the Americas to make his point. As the "Indian, in the woods of AmericaÐ'... are perfectly in a state of nature" (Locke, 13) they live in a state of equality in which no one has power over another, and all are free to do as they please. Extrapolating on this, while this may be all good and well in Locke's eyes, it inherently impedes the ability of exclusive gain, as there is nothing protecting the individual's property. If the Americas are how all the world looked like before civilization, then this puts Locke in a position to argue the value of living in civil society. For the people in America, though they are free, are "rich in land, and poor in all the comforts of life" (25). Without protection from the state, the accumulation of property is impossible and therefore the people living in a state of nature do not enjoy "one hundredth part of what we enjoy" in a civilized society (26). Without an empirical example of human nature that the Americas give Locke, Locke's theories are deduced to mere speculation. Because Locke's argument is rooted in the most ideal form government could take in the interest of human nature, empirical evidence gives his argument a great deal weight.

America also allows a space for Locke's view on property, the centerpiece for most of his writing. Locke says that when a person puts labor into something, that something becomes his property, a thought that makes logical sense if there were no limits to resources (23). Therefore, while the Native Americans may be occupying the land of America, because they are not utilizing it, it does not truly belong to them. It is interesting to see how Locke views legitimize, in a way, the colonization of America. Rooted in this argument, however, is the very argument that environmentalist still fight against today; the public believes land is being wasted if not fulfilling a human end then, inherently, there comes the mentality that there is no space for land to be only wilderness.

In describing the origins of property, Locke speaks of the "first peopling of the world by the children of Adam" and the process of possession by "planting in some inland, vacant places of America" (23). By drawing a parallel to the Garden of Eden, Locke shows that he sees America as a kind of fresh start. Acknowledging that there are, in fact, inhabitants on the continent, he discredits their relationship to the land, as it doesn't amount to ownership. In Locke's estimation, "the value of land has so little value, without labor" (22). This does two things: first, it puts the potential of America on some sort of ideal pedestal. Because of America's abundance of resources, Locke believes that people have the ability to shape the society they wish. By comparing it to the Garden of Eden, he has acknowledged that political society is inevitable and, due to the richness of resources, that society has no