Locke goes on to illustrate a distinction between “true pleasures” and “false pleasures”. This concept will be important to understand when analyzing whether or not property is essential for happiness. For Locke, false pleasures are those that promise immediate gratification but may be followed by more pain. Locke uses the example of alcohol, which may provide short term happiness but is accompanied by unhealthy effects on both the mind and body. Locke believes that many would rather choose short-term pleasures over those activities which provide lasting satisfaction. It should be noted how this idea can be applied to society today. Furthermore, Locke states: “The necessity of pursuing happiness [is] the foundation of liberty…The stronger ties we have to an unalterable pursuit of happiness in general, the more are we free from any necessary determination of our will to any particular action” (Locke, 1970, p. 171). In this passage, Locke determines that happiness is the foundation of liberty, providing the ability to make decisions that benefit long-term interest, as opposed to decisions that may only afford individuals immediate gratification. Moreover, Locke promotes the importance of the pursuit of happiness and further suggests that if individuals were to have no desire for happiness, society would remain content with simple pleasures in a state of nature. The desire for happiness pushes society to strive for more. However, it should be noted that happiness can be considered subjective, and what brings pleasure to one individual may not bring pleasure to another. The only individual who can judge or measure one’s happiness is oneself.

Contrary to certain Lockean beliefs, Jean-Jacques Rousseau argues the emergence of communitarianism in relation to private property and possessions. Rousseau believes individuals are more likely to unite with one another when discussing property, yet, he also argues a strong social divide. According to Rousseau, private property and material possessions create new powers for the rich and furthermore exclude others from everything that is not their property. In general, Rousseau argues the idea that property creates inequalities, and inequalities further create a source of corruption and unhappiness in modern society. Nevertheless, Rousseau’s understanding of property holds as one of the most difficult aspects of his thought. Unlike Locke who dedicates a discussion in the fifth chapter of his Second Treatise of Government, Rousseau’s views on property are instead scattered throughout his writings. However, an explicit discussion of property in some form appears to be near the centre of his political thought. Both in his Discourse on Political Economy and The Social Contract, he argues that private property was at the very foundation of his understanding of the ‘soc