John Locke writes about a “state of nature” to speak his mind on the matter of equality between all men and how people should be governed. Locke believes that since Adam was not given any kind of superiority role over the rest of mankind, that there is no rightful heir to the power of governing the world. Because of this, all men are created equal and should not have to answer to anyone. By saying this, everyone has the power of free will and the choice to do whatever they want. Another point Locke makes is that everyone should also love each other mutually and do no harm unto each other. Of course, human beings are not built to live that way naturally, so Locke says it is okay for someone to be in power solely to punish. Furthering this, Locke states that natural law requires that the punishment fit the crime. For example, if a person murdered someone, their punishment should be death.
Unfortunately, Locke realizes that this way of life would not work very well. People would be too biased to judge their own crimes without any sole person in control of the matter. It would be as if I committed a crime, and all my friends and family were the members of the jury. I think I would probably get let off with just a warning. The world we live in would turn to “confusion and disorder” and, simply, would not be capable of living in.