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A Note on Locke's “The Great Art of Government”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Edward Andrew
Edward Andrew*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Edward Andrew, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM5S 3G3; eandrew@chass.utoronto.ca.
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Abstract

Abstract. This note explores the ambiguity in John Locke's assertion that “the great art of government” consists in the increase and right employment of “lands” or “hands.” The dominant interpretation is that Locke thought governmental practice should aim at the extension and proper cultivation of land, while others assert that, given the context of the labour theory of value and Locke's concern to increase population, a more suitable interpretation is that the great art of government consists in the maximal exploitation of “hands” or labourers. The case for both “lands” and “hands” is examined within the scholarly literature on Locke's egalitarianism and political economy, an argument for the minority favouring of “hands” over “lands” provided and its contemporary relevance explained.

Résumé. Cette note analyse l'ambiguïté de l'assertion de John Locke selon laquelle «le grand art du gouvernement» consiste dans l'accroissement et l'exploitation convenable des terres («lands») ou de la main-d'oeuvre («hands»). L'interprétation dominante est que Locke pensait que la sage administration avait pour but la meilleure culture des terres («lands»), mais quelques savants lockiens, invoquant la théorie de Locke que toute valeur est le produit du travail et son intérêt pour la croissance de la population, privilégient plutôt une interprétation centrée sur l'exploitation de la main-d'oeuvre («hands»). L'auteur explore les deux optiques dans la littérature érudite sur l'égalité et l'économie politique de Locke, puis présente un raisonnement sur l'interprétation minoritaire centrée sur la main-d'oeuvre et en explique la pertinence dans le monde contemporain.

Type
Research Notes
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 511 - 519
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

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