Locke's state of nature, property rights and the snowpocalypse

I've been snowed in for three days. Classes are canceled today and tomorrow.  And we're expecting another 10-20 inches to fall starting at noon tomorrow. I moved an astonishing amount of snow Sunday in an effort to clear my sidewalk and car. My wife put in an equal amount of time clearing hers.  The snowpile next to our cars is now close to 6 ft. tall, 4 ft wide and 20 ft long.  So all in all, I (mostly) concur: Jay Hancock's blog: John Locke says: Honor parking-space lawn chairs! - Economic navigation and sightseeing - baltimoresun.com

I'm with Locke here. If you can't assume you'll be able to use the parking space you dug out, your incentive to create it would plunge. The city and neighborhoods would lose the labor of thousands of car owners who help recreate civilization each time the heavens dump white stuff all over the place.

I will mention that my main incentive for clearing my car is not to return to the spot, but rather just to get out of the house. If I was unsure of return, I don't think that would change my calculus much.

UPDATE 2-12-2010:

Hopkins philosophy prof on snow & parking spots

With a response from Hilary Bok, the Associate Professor of Philosophy, Luce Professor in Bioethics and Moral and Political Theory, at the Johns Hopkins University:

Locke's actual argument doesn't cover lawn chairs. For one thing, he's talking about claiming things in the state of nature, in which there is no system of private property. Here, of course, there is. For another, his argument turns on the inferred purposes of God in creating us. These do not obviously extend to lawn chairs.

 

 

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