Essay: Legitimate Slavery

Sample Essay

Locke also identifies his main discussion to be based on legitimate slavery which is very important in early political philosophy simply because it identifies that the lawful presence of tyranny, defines and clarifies by disparity, the character of unlawful slavery as observed in 18^th century England. Illegitimate slavery on the other hand is just taking over someone’s freedom without a valid cause or motive. Locke takes this line of consideration as he explains equality of all men. He states,

“This freedom from absolute, arbitrary power, is so necessary to, and closely joined with a man’s preservation, that he cannot part with it, but by what forfeits his preservation and life together: for a man, not having the power of his own life, cannot, by compact, or his own consent, enslave himself to any one, nor put himself under the absolute, arbitrary power of another, to take away his life, when he pleases” (Locke, 22).

Locke’s line of philosophy is not only different with Hobbes on the issue of government but also they are directly in conflict with their views on slavery which was growing in Europe and the Americas in their times. It is predictable that England in the 18^th century elated around 7 million slaves to the Caribbean and the Americas for various purposes. These include United States’ sugar cultivation and tobacco and cotton cultivation in the United States. Soon, the economists started to realize that the profits which plantation owners were earning because of this free slavery would not have been achievable if they had to in reality pay these people to cultivate their crops.

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