# Property and Labor in Two Treatises of Government

> Theme guide for Two Treatises of Government by John Locke.

Property originates from an individual's labor mixing with common resources, and the preservation of property is a primary end of civil society, protected by law against arbitrary seizure.

## Where it surfaces

- [Of Adam’s Title to Sovereignty, by Donation, Gen. 1:28](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/iv-of-adam-s-title-to-sovereignty-by-donation-gen-1-28): Locke distinguishes between private dominion (property) and political sovereignty, arguing that property in land does not give power over persons.
- [Of Adam’s Title to Sovereignty by Fatherhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/vi-of-adam-s-title-to-sovereignty-by-fatherhood): Implicitly addressed through the idea that begetting does not give a father property-like ownership over children.
- [VII: Of Fatherhood and Property Considered Together as Fountains of Sovereignty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/vii-of-fatherhood-and-property-considered-together-as-fountains-of-sovereignty): The chapter explores the distinction between private dominion (property) and paternal power, questioning how property rights relate to political authority.
- [Of Monarchy, by Inheritance from Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/ix-of-monarchy-by-inheritance-from-adam): Locke redefines property as a right based on necessity and self-preservation, rejecting Filmer's notion of exclusive dominion by donation.
- [Of Property](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/v-of-property): Locke establishes that labor, mixed with common resources, creates private property, and that this right is limited by the needs of others and the prohibition of waste.
- [Of Political or Civil Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/vii-of-political-or-civil-society): Locke states that the preservation of property is the end of government, and that insecurity of property drove people to establish civil society.
- [IX: Of the Ends of Political Society and Government](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/ix-of-the-ends-of-political-society-and-government): The 'great and chief end' of government is the preservation of property, which Locke defines broadly as 'lives, liberties, and estates,' making property central to the social contract.
- [XI: Of the Extent of the Legislative Power](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/xi-of-the-extent-of-the-legislative-power): The end of government is the preservation of property; arbitrary seizure without consent subverts that end.
- [XVI: Of Conquest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/xvi-of-conquest): Locke discusses the limits of a conqueror's claim to land and property, arguing that reparation does not justify dispossessing the innocent.
- [Of the Dissolution of Government](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/xix-of-the-dissolution-of-government): The end of entering society is the preservation of property; when legislators invade property or reduce people to slavery under arbitrary power, they forfeit their trust.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/themes/property_and_labor
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/themes