The State of Nature

“Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Locke discusses the state of nature extensively; however, his pronouncements basically all come back to this statement. To begin, Locke argues that all men are equal and independent and no one ought to harm another fellow human being in life, health, liberty, or possessions. He asserts that because all men come from the same Maker, they are to live as long as the Maker wills it. It is not anyone else’s right to tamper with these rights. However, there is a very significant disclaimer of sorts that comes with this belief. In the state of nature, ever y person has the right to self-preservation. Impairing or taking away the life of another is acceptable when one’s self-preservation is threatened, or when another’s preservation of life, liberty, health, goods, or limb are endangered. Everyone has the right to preserve not only one’s self, but mankind in general. This right allows anyone to be the “executioner” of the law of Nature. For example, every man in the state of Nature has the power and the right to kill a murderer so as to keep others from becoming murderers and/or to keep the safety of others from the said criminal. Locke makes all of these statements then tempers it by saying it is unreasonable for men to all be judges, as a bias will almost certainly affect their decisions. Therefore, he says, this is why God has created government. Locke states that it is government that will restrain the violence of men. In addition, any judges that make a wrong decision are answerable to the rest of mankind. The judges should also be judged. Finally, Locke also states that if government is remiss in tempering a ‘judge’s’ jury and if likewise the people also do nothing, he/she will ultimately be judged by God. It is clear why people would not want to live in the state of nature. To me it seems as these three safety nets contain a few too many holes. To give this much responsibility to every person seems like certain chaos. Allowing people to kill whomever they please to satisfy their revenge or to institute what they see as justice is anarchy. First of all, as Locke agrees, these judgments will indubitably be biased. It is impossible that every single person will make the same judgment on a loved one’s case as they would on a stranger’s, even if the supposed crime is the same. It is no wonder that people would choose to leave the state of nature. To stay in this unstable environment would be certain death.