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Mitja Durnik

Abstract
According to Locke, an aboriginal land was unoccupied before the settlement of the Americas by Europeans and people who lived there were in the “state of nature” – in a kind of a pre-political society where did not recognize property as the European nations did. Locke saw private property as an important determinant of economic development where the Aboriginal people were underdeveloped and living in simple-organized societies based on self-sufficient economy which could not produce any extra profit. In other words, in Locke’s view existed two economic worlds – one European who had a potential for making a profit, and one aboriginal, mainly connected with barter economy. The main argument is then the economic system in the large manner dictated the variety of property rights in colonial and aboriginal economy.

Key words: Colonialism, Aboriginal People, Property Rights, John Locke, Political Thought.

Mitja Durnik holds BA diplomas in political science and management and he is PhD candidate at Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana.

Cite this article:
Durnik Mitja. Property Rights as a “Consequence” of Economic System: The
Case of John Locke and Canadian Aboriginals. Innovative Issues and Approaches in Social Sciences, vol.1, no.1:53-90, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2008-no1-art03

Digital Object Identifier(DOI): http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2008-no1-art03

View full text in pdf: http://www.iiass.com/pdf/IIASS-2008-no1-art03.pdf