Lockeans against labor mixing

Brian Kogelmann
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Brian Kogelmann: 248503University of Maryland, USA

Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 2021, vol. 20, issue 3, 251-272

Abstract: The idea that labor mixing confers property in unowned resources is, for many, the very heart of the Lockean system of property. In this essay I shall argue that this common view is mistaken. Lockean theorists should reject labor mixing as the preferred method of first appropriation, and should adopt a different account of first appropriation instead. This is because labor mixing does not serve the central justification for the institution of property embraced by Lockeans. Thus, my argument is internal to the Lockean system; I rely only on premises that (many) Lockean theorists embrace. Though Lockeans should forsake labor mixing, that does not mean they should give up on property rights and the idea of first appropriation. In the paper’s final section, I sketch an account of first appropriation that Lockeans should embrace.

Keywords: Locke; first appropriation; original appropriation; property; property rights; labor mixing; rent dissipation; homestead (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:pophec:v:20:y:2021:i:3:p:251-272

DOI: 10.1177/1470594X211027256

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