Why did Locke consider property a natural right?

In his Two Treatises of Government, John Locke argued that property is a natural right rooted in the ownership of one's own person. According to Locke, every individual possesses their own body, and by extension, they acquire property rights by "mixing" their labor with objects in the natural world.12

When an individual exerts effort to transform unowned resources—such as turning a barren field into crops or raw wood into a house—the resulting product becomes their private property. This labor-based acquisition is fundamental to his political theory, as it establishes that government has no legitimate authority to seize an individual's property without their consent.12

Locke viewed the protection of these rights—along with life and liberty—as the primary purpose of political society and the rule of law. By defining property as an extension of the individual, he provided a moral framework that limited the power of the state, ensuring that government exists to serve the public good rather than to exercise arbitrary control over the possessions of its citizens.2