laws." Where men in the state of nature must fight against one another to retain control or use of their own property, in society, what Locke (1986) sees as taking place is a unification in pursuit of strength. As Locke (1986, p. 76) put it, "to this end it is that men give up all their natural power to the society they enter into, and the community put this legislative power into such hands as they think fit."
Locke's (1986) view therefore is that government exists because men have recognized their vulnerability in a state of nature. While they may indeed be far freer to act as they choose in a state of nature, they are nevertheless weaker in this state and unable to depend upon the protection of law. By creating a society and developing a government -- regardless of what kind of government it might be -- they create a mechanism that protects their property rights and, in most cases, their own lives. Locke (1986, p. 76) claims that men do this "to preserve their lives, liberties, and fortunes, and by stated rules of right and property to secure th
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