The work begins by establishing the state of nature, wherein all humans possess perfect freedom and equality under the governing law of reason. In this pre-political condition, every individual holds the executive power to enforce natural law and punish transgressions to secure peace. However, because self-love and partiality make men poor judges in their own disputes, this natural state remains fraught with constant dangers and insecurity. To remedy these defects and reliably protect their lives, liberties, and estates, individuals willingly enter into a social contract, surrendering their private enforcement powers to a unified community.
By this foundational compact, a civil society is formed, operating through the will of the majority and establishing a reliable legislative authority. Locke meticulously distinguishes political power from parental authority, master-servant relations, and despotism. Paternal power is merely temporary, designed for the care and education of children during their minority, whereas political power requires the mature consent of rational adults. Despotism, conversely, is an arbitrary dominion over those who have forfeited their rights through an unprovoked state of war.
The core argument centers on the principle that property—defined broadly as a person's life, liberty, and estate—is the primary reason men unite into commonwealths. Consequently, the supreme legislative power is strictly bound to govern through established, standing laws rather than arbitrary decrees, and it can never take any portion of a subject's property without consent. If the legislative or the executive acts contrary to this sacred trust by attempting to enslave or impoverish the populace, the government is effectively dissolved.
When a government degenerates into tyranny through a long train of abuses, the supreme power reverts to the community. The people retain the ultimate, inalienable right to judge their rulers and alter or replace a corrupted legislative framework with a new one. Ultimately, the text provides a robust defense of constitutional liberty, asserting that legitimate authority exists solely for the public good and the preservation of human freedom.
