Man is a silly goose

The state of nature is extremely important to Locke and his theories on politics as it is the authority he appeals to when discussing the nature of man and the fact that he is a free creature at birth. Man was born in a state of absolute liberty, through nature or God's will, and is therefore entitled to certains rights and freedom when it comes to choice. Another important feature of the state of nature is that all men are created with equal facilities and opportunity for mental and physical development. This leads to the conclusion that naturally no man was designed to rule over another because there is no such thing as inherent greatness. This suggestion spits in the face of the aristocratic theory as a whole. It would seem as though either God himself would need to come out of the heavens and appoint someone to be greater in front of the rest of humanity, or a man would need to be born with a giant hammer instead of an arm. He could use this hammer to enslave the rest of the human race. Since his physical ability was inherently greater than that of the rest of humanity's he would be entitled to rule said humanity, or so the State of Nature would seem. Locke believes that men are drawn out of this state of nature and into a political community for the reason that man is simply drawn into a sense of companionship with other men, in order to make up for the "defects and imperections" (12) that we face when living solely as individuals. It seems to me that Locke is trying to say that entering a political society means that every man is an equal and that every man is assigned to a job or position that best fits his talents, for the good of the whole. He also enjoys Hooker's view that man is designed to be better than the animal, that he just naturally desires the finer things in this world (be it through nature or through God, I am not sure) and will therefore seek out others who can help him gain these things. Man the animal is equal to every other man, and that does not change when he enters a society. That is the basic summary of Locke's feelings on the subject.