Some Political Origins of the Denial of Death

Abstract

Although the political dimensions of the attempt to deny death in our culture have been largely neglected, this denial is positively required by the assumptions and incentives of our political ideology. An examination of the political theory of John Locke, the philosopher who has had the largest impact upon American institutions and ideology, reveals how central to his thought were assumptions about the lure of unlimited acquisition, the inevitability of human estrangement and the significance of achievement. All three of these assumptions survive today encased in Locke's widely accepted doctrine on property and all three are undermined by the movement to treat death more openly and humanly. In particular, the recognition of the limits of human existence allows for a perspective on life's activities that threatens the Lockean inspired politics of growth for the sake of growth. The force of this collision reveals both the contemporary prevalence of Locke's ideas and the potential for significant political repercussions in the insights gained from facing death.