Final answer:
Locke's theory of natural right to property regards the rights to life, liberty, and property as natural and inalienable. He believes that property is initially common to all and can be owned by individuals when improved through labor, without taking more than needed or harming others. Government's role is to protect these rights within the bounds of social contract and civil society.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Locke's theory of natural right to property is a fundamental concept in his philosophical work, particularly in his Second Treatise of Government. In Locke's state of nature, people are born with the right to life, liberty, and property. Property initially refers to what we can take from nature to fulfill basic needs for survival, which God has given to everyone in common. As society progresses and utilizes money, property includes what is improved through individual labor. Locke emphasizes that although everyone has the right to property, this right is limited by the requirement that no one should take more than they need and not deprive others of their right to resources. Natural rights, such as the rights to life and property, are inalienable and predate the existence of government, which should act to protect these rights.
Locke's discussion includes the concept of mixing labor with the land, which justifies individual ownership of property, provided it does not harm others. In a developed society, the protection and regulation of property becomes a function of civil government, which operates through a social contract to protect citizens' rights. Societal laws are established with the commonwealth in mind, ensuring that individual interests do not overshadow the collective good, and civil liberty is differentiated from natural liberty as a product of governance.