And the Philosophic Wrestling Federation (PWF) presents...

Hobbes versus Locke the unofficial rumble

Hobbes: Humans are paranoid, power-crazy, equal in capacity BUT rational. Hobbes: The state of nature is one of anarchy, every man for himself, constant fear of the other (competition, aggression, etc.) Hobbes: Laws of nature = rational aimed at self-preservation. Hobbes: Social contract = rational escape route from state of nature, power to sovereign with monopoly over force who will protect individual from other humans. Covenant or conquest: law binding either way. Locke: Humans are social, morally equal AND rational. Locke: The state of nature is social and peaceful, every man his own judge, enough resources to go around, BUT misunderstanding & inconvenience... Locke: Laws of nature = laws of reason Thou shalt harm no other in his life, health, liberty or POSSESSIONS! Locke: Social contract = necessary step to avoid misunderstanding & inconvenience inherent to a situation where each man is morally equal and thus his own judge. Civil society results, power to the community, not to the sovereign. The sovereign should respect laws of nature and start by awarding maximum possible freedom to the individual. Role ONLY in settling disputes, mostly with regards to private property. Locke: The limited state

Hobbes: Necessary evil Leviathan

AND ITS A KNOCK OUT! Locke and Private Property enchant the Western world and they love him for
centuries to come...

So whats this Private Property doctrine all about?

Well... You own yourself. Thus you own your labour. Now... In the state of nature theres enough (lets say apples) for everyone. You pick an apple, I pick an apple, we all pick an apple... and in all that is fair and Locke the apple belongs to the one who picked it first FIRST STAGE OF PROPERTY: ANYTHING MIXED WITH YOUR LABOUR BECOMES YOURS (labour theory of value)

After eating many apples I realize one fine day that everywhere I left a core, low and behold, a little tree has taken root. So I decide to build a fence and name this phenomenon My Little Orchard SECOND

STAGE OF PROPERTY: ACQUISITION OF LAND THROUGH CULTIVATION AND PRODUCTION

Here a barter economy is bound to form as I simply have too many apples for my own consumption. I have also left so many cores lying around that My Little Orchard is too big for me to cultivate by myself anymore. I asked Tom, Dick and Harry to come help me with My Little Orchard in exchange for apples, but now Tom, Dick and Harry insist that they have mixed their labour with My Little Orchard and that it is now Their Little Orchard as well! This is clearly a misunderstanding, not to mention an inconvenience! Thankfully I had the good sense to befriend other people who have had similar troubles with Tom, Dick and Harry and we have formed this club called the state of civil society. It takes care of misunderstandings and inconveniences at relatively menial legal costs, considering that Hobbes would have us pay with our lives! The club does not merely protect My Little Orchard from becoming Their Little Orchard, but also made possible the use of money THIRD STAGE OF PROPERTY: DEVELOPMENT OF MONEY BY TACIT OR VOLUNTARY

CONSENT
Now Tom, Dick and Harry can buy my apples with the money that I pay them to pick my apples (Problem 1: Exploitation of labour)! The world makes sense (problem 2: In the eyes of the rich, the world is always just...) and we all lived happily ever after (problem 3: The endless accumulation of capital = endless growth of inequality) as my sons and their sons and their sons reaped the rightful benefits of My little Orchard (Problem 4 & 5 & 6 to 2008: Was initial acquisition necessarily just? Was Locke at all historically correct about the way things happened and thus the way things are? Wasnt it Hobbes that thought conquest could also be legitimate, because I could swear South America and Africa...? Are subsequent heirs necessarily rightful owners even if as a result they dont have to work at all?)

HEADLINE: ARGUMENT FOR THE ORIGINS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY CALLS ROBIN HOOD A CRIMINAL! DEFENDING THE RICH, A BIOGRAPHY OF CONSUMPTION-DRIVEN JOHN LOCKE BY MIEKE FOURIE