Locke's Progressive Work Ethic

After reading Anderson’s essay on Locke and the Progressive Work Ethic, I had some initial thoughts and questions about Locke. 

I was reminded of how differently people think and how it is possible for us all to read the same thing and come out with completely different conclusions. It was fascinating reading about how while most people will read and understand Locke as supporting a neoliberal view, others, like Anderson, can view Locke as having a pro-worker political and economic agenda. I also appreciated the way Anderson situated Locke’s texts in the context they came from to better understand the author in his time period. At the same time, her essay helped me consider the importance of having an open mind towards adapting the text and applying it to modern society. 

From the quote, “Rather when people enter political society, they consent to be governed by rules such as the community, or those authorized by them to that purpose, shall agree on,” Anderson explains how Locke stresses we agree to liberties and constraints of political society that are different from the state of nature, including constraints and rules on property. This makes sense considering the way property is governed and how it changes when a person is no longer in the state of nature. As a result, the government (which is founded on popular sovereignty) should be able to adapt to society and constrain private property through laws as necessary. The introduction of money also shifts the way we view property and the provisions on sufficiency and spoilage, and Anderson uses these to make arguments that Locke supports redistribution, taxation, and economic regulation. 

It was also interesting viewing political society as more than just a place to get away from the state of nature and protect private property but rather a place where people are expected to fulfill their positive duties to promote human flourishing (36). This necessity of fulfilling the public good involves every member of that society, including landless laborers (37). Although the duty of promoting human flourishing (as well as most of Locke’s philosophy), as Marta mentioned, is based off Protestant work ethic and brings into question how easily we should believe in it or base our knowledge off it, I do think that Locke’s writings, even if written with a God-oriented mindset, still carry weight and have had profound impacts on the way our institutions function today. I also think most people can agree that it is important to preserve and promote human life as a whole, and that promoting human flourishing is not necessarily a bad thing. From this, I did wonder how Locke’s ideas connected with the concept of relational equality in regards to interactions about private property. I would think Anderson would say that in promoting human flourishing and supporting those who can not support themselves we are engaging in relational equality.

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