Karl Marx and John Locke both formulated philosophical theories that helped convince people of their rights to freedom and power; however, they had divergent views on the notion of private property. Locke believed that property belonged to anyone who worked for it and that everyone could accumulate as much property as they wanted (692). Marx, however, viewed the private property of the privileged few who owned it as the product of exploitation of the working class (1118). Personally, I believe that Locke's view of private property is more convincing than Marx's view. In Locke's Second Treatise on Government, he defines his vision of private property. He affirms that the earth belongs to all men in common, but that each has his own body. Since he owns his own body, he also owns the work of his body. Therefore, what he devotes his labor to also becomes his property. Thus, an individual's private property is that in which he has invested his labor (692). Locke believes that although God gave the earth to all human beings, he did not want the earth to be uncultivated. Instead, Locke says that God “gave it for the use of the workers and the rational” (693). Locke believed that land that was not cultivated would go to waste, and by "waste" Locke meant that which brought little or no benefit. Initially, Locke says that one cannot accumulate and own as many goods as one wishes. They can only keep what they can use, and any excess is considered waste. If someone accumulates goods that he cannot use, he thereby prevents other people from actually using those goods (693). However, an exception is made when money creation comes to middle of paper...this is because if everyone, regardless of how much effort they put in, received the same amount of property, people would naturally stop working hard since it would be of no use to them. If people stopped working hard, all of our society's success would gradually fall into decline, since people would no longer compete and try to surpass each other. Competition among human beings is vital to motivating technological advancements, artistic ideas, and industrious innovations. Therefore, if people do not compete to come up with new ideas, the progress of society will stop. The ideals of Marx and Locke are revolutionary and concern human freedom. However, Locke considers that each human being is an individual, not just another member of the community, which is an essential detail to consider when looking at the natural rights of human beings...