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Chapter 2: Of the State of Nature
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Second Treatise of Government, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, War, and Civil Society
Consent of the Governed and the Role of Government
Power and Absolute Monarchies
The Dissolution of Government
Summary
Analysis
Locke defines the state of war as a state of “enmity and destruction.” As everyone has the right to self-preservation through the law of nature, one therefore has the right to destroy anyone who makes war upon them just as they would kill a wolf or a lion, Locke says. For anyone who is not under the “commonlaw of reason” must be treated as if they are a beast.
While Locke doesn’t explicitly say it, he implies here that absolute monarchies place subjects in a state of war with the monarch. A monarch exerts force and power over the people by unjustly stripping them of power, which, strictly speaking is a state of war and an abandonment of the “commonlaw of reason” that assumes everyone is equal and free.
Themes
Literary Devices
Anyone who attempts to assert absolute power on another automatically enters into a state of war, Locke argues, as being free from the force of such absolute power is essential to self-preservation. One cannot have another in their absolute power, and if they try to exert this power anyway and make another their slave, they are entering into a state of war.
Again, Locke implicitly claims absolute monarchies are illegitimate because, first and foremost, monarchs claim power they can in no way have. To hold another under one’s power violates the other’s right to self-preservation, which, under the law of nature, means the victim is able to kill the transgressor—in this case, the monarch.
Themes
In this way, it is also lawful to kill a thief, Locke says, even if said thief has not caused any physical harm. In taking another’s money or possessions, a thief takes another into their power, and it can only be reasonably assumed that they will not stop at that. As the thief has thus entered into a state of war, it is lawful to kill a thief. The difference between a state of war and a state of nature, Locke says, is that nature is a state of peace and preservation. A state of war, on the other hand, is a state of violence and destruction. People living in harmony under mutual assistance with a mutual understanding of preservation is a proper state of nature.
Locke’s definition of the difference between a state of nature and a state of war again harkens to absolute monarchies. Absolute monarchs seize land and levy arbitrary taxes, thereby becoming a thief in Locke’s eyes. In this way, absolute monarchies violate the laws of nature in more ways than one, and place subjects in a continual state of war with the monarch. Locke implies that absolute monarchies are a state of violence and destruction, and he again implies killing a monarch is justified under the law of nature.
Themes
After the force ceases during a state of war, the war is over; however, both sides have a right to reparation for their injuries. As there is not a common judge in the state of nature to preside over lawful reparations, Locke reminds the reader, the state of war continues. Violence and injury for any reason, be it in war or in reparation, are still violence and injury. In a state of nature, there is no authority to appeal to, so one must “appeal to heaven” instead. To avoid the constant threat of force and the state of war, humankind created society, Locke argues, to protect one’s person and possessions and implement an authority in which one may appeal.
As Locke argues that civil society was invented to protect people from the violence of nature, he implies here that absolute monarchies are not a form of civil society, as they place subjects into a state of nature and war. Locke later points out that there is no impartial judge in an absolute monarchy, and he again claims that under such circumstances one can only “appeal to heaven” when they are wronged by a monarch.
Themes
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