John Locke, Property Rights

March 8, 2017

From: GL
Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2017 3:42 PM
To: Walter Block
Subject: Remembering the philosophy of rights in Locke
Dear Walter, I hope this message finds you well. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to accompany you through your visit to Brazil on February, 2016. I am writing you today because I’m about to finish my book on the question of how human rights (from the mainstream legal tradition definition) behave under government intervention. I believe I’ve came through an interesting theory. I was remembering one lecture you gave us that time, in which you justified as how Locke defined that we own ourselves through an utilitarian perspective. I wonder if you have written anything about it, or if you could recommend me something on that matter. I want to briefly approach the Lockean utilitarian perspective on the right to property, in order to better contextualize my defense of Rothbard’s theory of rights.
Deepest regards from Brazil, GL

Dear GL: Sad to say, I have not written anything on this exactly on point. However, I’ve written about this at least peripherally, and this might help:

Block, Walter E. 2016. “Forestalling, positive obligations and the Lockean and Blockian provisos: Rejoinder to Stephan Kinsella.” Ekonomia Wroclaw Economic Review. http://ekon.sjol.eu/category/22-3-2016-529