A Natural Right to Property?

With regard to property, radical libertarians tend to follow the teaching of John Locke according to which if a person goes to previously unclaimed land and clears or cultivates it, he acquires a "right" to control the land forever and ever. Even his descendants can possibly control the land for an indefinite period. It is intimated that by this "mixing of labor" with the land, a mystical bond is created between the person and the land that cannot be broken by any other person or governmental authority. As a matter of fact, according to this belief, one of the sole purposes of government is to enforce a person's claim to land. This "first user" justification for private property is presented as a "natural" right, i.e. one that is not created by human beings and which cannot be altered by human beings. A moderate libertarian would not share this belief concerning the nature of property.