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Chapter 8: Of the Beginning of Political Societies
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
If one is perfectly free in a state of nature, Locke asks, why would one ever part with such freedom? For Locke, the answer is simple: to preserve one’s life and property. A state of nature is dangerous and very uncertain, and since it is so unsafe, one freely gives up such liberties for protection. The single greatest reason for humankind to leave a state of nature and join society is the preservation of property.
While Locke doesn’t exactly agree with Hobbes’s definition of the state of nature as “nasty, brutish, and short,” Locke does concede that nature can be an exceedingly dangerous place, in which one is often forced into a state of war. Thus, the desire for the protection of society.
Themes
In any politic society, Locke says, there must be established and known laws, enacted and followed by common consent, and there must be an indifferent judge to punish those who violate the law. In a politic society, there must also be a power to execute the laws and punishments handed down by the judge.
Laws in absolute monarchies are arbitrary and executed on a whim. In absolute monarchies, the king is the supreme power and makes and executes laws.
Themes
When one leaves a state of nature to join a common-wealth, one forfeits their power of self-preservation and the right to punish transgressors and places such power in the hands of the common-wealth. However, Locke contends, this power can never extend past the common good of the people. For any government must always operate “to no other end, but the peace, safety, and public good of the people.”
