John Locke’s ideas and theories that he invented are still important to how the people and government coexist. He went to Westminster school in his early years and then eventually studied at Oxford where he taught as a professor for many years as well. He wrote many award-winning books that are still relevant today. The reason he was so widely known is because of these books and the ideas in them. He was responsible for some of the first thoughts of democracy, liberalism, and the separation of church and state. These thoughts made him loved by the people but not the higher-ups because it gives them the thought that they’ll lose power. In fact, Locke had to flee England to Holland because King Charles II believed he was plotting to kill him. He then lived the rest of his days out in Holland.
I was confused however because with John Locke’s theories of liberalism and democracy it surprised me that he was pro-slavery. You would think a man that comes up with ideas of respecting everyone’s thoughts and beliefs would also be anti-slavery. That was not the case his three basic human rights he believed were life, liberty, and property. The property was anything from a gold pocket watch to a human being. He did say in his later years that slavery should mostly happen only to someone who has committed a punishable crime. Also, one of his reasons for not condoning slavery was that he had a lot of stock in the African slave trade in England. I think he was making so much money off slaves that his thoughts about it all were solely based on money. He had 3 main reasons why he didn’t think about abolishing slavery, he was a protestant, the economic benefits of slavery, and he thought it was a basic human right. His protestant beliefs didn’t allow slavery, but it didn’t not allow it as well. His mind was like the confederates in the Civil War, they saw slavery in Paul’s letters and immediately thought it was ok. The economic view on slavery was probably his main reason I think, he was making so much money that he must’ve never looked at it the other way around. He understood that forced labor was the most efficient way to produce profitable goods because he didn’t have to pay the workers. Lastly, John Locke’s three human rights included slavery. He said in some of his writings that he believed a slave is born a slave, a subject is born a subject, and a king is born a king. Then he tied them all by saying that each one as they were born has a responsibility to obey their master.
Some said he was a hypocrite because of his liberalism views and then his views on slavery which I think is very possible. It’s the fact that he devoted his life to his teachings and his work but failed to see the biggest blunder in history right in front of him. John Locke was interesting and fun to learn about because of the reasons he’s still relevant today. In the end, though I am happy I learned and became him for this activity. Although it was tough to stand in front of a class and talk about how much I (John Locke) preached slavery I, thoroughly enjoyed this game. Also, my script is below but I didn’t really read it word by word because I didn’t know we could have it in front of us while we presented.
"Hello everyone, my name is John Locke and I was born in England in 1632. England is where I grew up attending school, and it is where I lived most of my life. I am an English philosopher and author of many important books. Some say that I was one of the main inspirations for the creation and influence of liberalism in early English times. I also am one of the main reasons that this country has democracy, separation of church and state, and its western culture. I am for slavery because I think it is a basic human right. I believe that there are three basic human rights and those are life, liberty, and property. By property, I mean land, property, and also owning people. I am a protestant and a believer in the Holy Bible and it tells us that slavery should be among us. “Obey your masters” is a common theme in Paul’s letters. I believe this because I think that a slave is born a slave as a king is born a king. And once someone is born, they have the duty to serve their master. Although I think that slavery should happen when someone commits a punishable crime, I also think that it is a basic human right. Another reason why slavery should be upheld is the fact that it is making our economy grow faster than ever. Forced labor allows a property owner to collect crops produced by their slaves at no pay. This allows for massive economic growth and massive profit. Again Slavery is a basic human right and that is what I preach, I hope you guys can get on board with me because of all of the benefits slavery comes with. Again thank you for listening and I hope that you all side with me"
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