Chapter 16, “Of Conquest” finally gets to the details of the hypothetical “just conqueror,” and covers Locke’s ideas of the restrictions and requirements for a conqueror to maintain the legal/moral high ground.
Some of the argumentation in this chapter is a bit confusing, so I start out with Locke’s summary at the end of the chapter, and then return to the more nuanced discussions after that.
One important point we can take away from Locke’s arguments here is that the requirements of a just conqueror are so strict as to practically eliminate all historical conquerors from the category.
Not only are there very strict restrictions on the spoils of a just war, but also on the conqueror’s authority after a just victory.
Part of me thinks this chapter is so confusing in order to help prevent Locke from meeting the same fate as Algernon Sidney…
Considering how strict the requirements are for just conquest, we as voluntaryists and anarchists can, for all practical purposes, argue for the illegitimacy of all dominion by conquest, from the perspective of Locke’s philosophy. That might be taking it further than Locke was willing to go, but good arguments are best when taken to their logical conclusions.
This video is available on Odysee, YouTube, and BitChute.
This copy of Locke’s Two Treatises is slightly modernized and quite readable:
https://archive.org/details/twotreatisesofgo0000lock_z7g8/
Intro music by Egor Gandukhin, courtesy Pixabay:
https://pixabay.com/users/sounddelicious-44481665/