John Locke and Land Ownership

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    In “Rescuing Indigenous Land Ownership: Revising Locke’s Account of Original Appropriation through Cultivation,” S. Stewart Braun analyzes an essential quote from philosopher John Locke, which was used to justify the acquisition of land– especially taking from and relocating indigenous communities. Locke claimed that cultivation is the means by which people can establish ownership over land. Numerous 17th and 18th century politicians used this quote from a reputable philosopher to rationalize settlement. Additionally, European settlers legally claimed indigenous land to be unoccupied despite it clearly being inhabited, due to a lack of visible cultivation. Braun claims that Locke certainly did not believe in a “hierarchical ordering of human persons in order to justify colonial acquisition” and certainly believed in equality.

    Instead, Braun offers ways we can use the quote to instead account for the importance of land in our lives, especially the indigenous communities which have been stolen from. Locke connects land to personal and cultural identity, which emphasizes the injustice of using a quote to justify acquiring others’ land. Secondly, it can address past injustices, being of use to those who look to return to their homelands. Lastly, this perspective can invite questions such as “Why do certain peoples think they can claim a specific piece of land as their own? How do we adjudicate between conflicting claims? And why are particular pieces of property held to be of such fundamental moral importance? As proposed by Braun. Quotes, especially those written by philosophers, have meaning behind them beyond their surface level interpretations, and Locke certainly did not write it with the intent of justifying colonialism. With this, it is important to realize areas where we can instead apply these philosophies to reject the injustices of colonialism.


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Works Cited

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Braun, S. Stewart. “Rescuing Indigenous Land Ownership: Revising Locke’s Account of Original Appropriation through Cultivation.” Theoria: A Journal of Social & Political Theory, vol. 61, no. 139, June 2014, pp. 68–89. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.libproxy.scu.edu/10.3167/th.2014.6113904. Hamilton, Jennifer Mae. “‘Labour against Wilderness’ and the Trouble with Property beyond The Secret River.” Green Letters: Studies in Ecocriticism, vol. 20, no. 2, 2016, pp. 140–55. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.libproxy.scu.edu/10.1080/14688417.2016.1166066. Herrero, Dolores. “Crossing The Secret River: From Victim to Perpetrator, or the Silent/Dark Side of the Australian Settlement.” Atlantis: Revista de La Asociación Española de Estudios Anglo-Norteamericanos, vol. 36, no. 1, June 2014, pp. 87–105. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN=2014701697&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Troy, Jakelin. “Language Contact in Ear...
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