The Social Contract Research Podcast · Social Contract Research Network

The State of Nature and Colonialism: Empty vs Waste Land at Home and Abroad, with Barbara Arneil

·1 hr 13 min·5 clips

Locke used 'common' 50 times in one chapter, showing land privatization was his real colonial driver.

This episode features political scientist Barbara Arneil presenting her research on John Locke and Jeremy Bentham's views of land. Host Chris introduces Arneil, a professor at the University of British Columbia and author of works on Locke and colonialism. Her talk examines the concepts of empty, waste, and common land in political theory. Arneil argues Locke described land in the state of nature, equated with America, as empty, waste, and common, but emphasized the latter two. She cites Locke's Chapter Five of the *Second Treatise*, where he uses "waste" 10 times and "common" 50 times, compared to only one reference to "vacant." For Locke, wasteland meant uncultivated land, while common land lacked private property or enclosure. Arneil connects this to debates over *terra nullius*, referencing the 1992 Mabo case in Australia and scholar Andrew Fitzmaurice's historical analysis. She contends Locke's solution to waste and common land was settler colonialism through cultivation and enclosure. Arneil then links Locke to Bentham, who also saw wasteland as a problem but advocated for domestic colonialism for the idle poor. She details Bentham's "Pauper Management Improved" plan for 250 panopticon-style colonies. Her new research focuses on Bentham's role in 18th-century British enclosure bills, analyzing his unpublished 1796 letter to Sir John Sinclair. A key insight is that common land, not empty land, was the primary concern for Locke in justifying settler colonialism. Arneil finds the discourse on enclosure traveled between colonies and England, influencing each other. She notes Bentham's letter argued to expand enclosure from wasteland to common land, redefining common pasture rights as "waste." The talk reveals Bentham's direct influence in shifting a 1797 parliamentary bill to target common arable fields and pastures for privatization. Arneil points out Locke supported private enclosures in England but required commoners' consent, unlike in America. The proposed general enclosure bills ultimately failed due to opposition, notably from the Anglican Church over tithes. The tone is academic and lecture-based, presenting a detailed historical and textual analysis. The style is educational, structured around clear claims and evidence from primary sources. Listeners interested in political theory, colonial history, or property rights will find this episode compelling. Those seeking casual conversation or contemporary debate might find it too specialized.

As heard by us

A careful argument about how land is turned into property through naming and enclosure.

Barbara Arneil's seminar keeps its focus on a hard political question: when land is called empty, and when it is called waste, who gets to make that naming stick?

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Why you'd press play

You want Locke, enclosure, and colonial land claims tied together in one careful historical argument.

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