Locke, John (1632–1704)

John locke was a british empiricist and social/political philosopher whose ideas on property, self-determination, and liberty influenced American politicians such as Thomas Jefferson. Locke asserted that humans initially existed in a God-created state of nature governed by divinely established moral rules that transcend social and economic “best use” considerations.

Locke believed that all humans have the right to sustain themselves and to accumulate wealth as long as they do not harm themselves, one another, or another's property. All laborers, he declared, must be granted equal access to the resources necessary to sustain themselves while discouraging the overuse or waste of the limited land and resources provided by God.

The Lockean proviso asserted that the right of humans to maximize their freedom to use the planet's land and ...