ENGL 298 B: Intermediate Writing Social Sciences   Autumn 2011, University of Washington

Chapter XI

In this section, Locke makes arguments for the extent of legislative power in society. He already made the assertion that the legislative power is the most important part of the government, as government—according to Locke—is there to provide a neutral umpire to citizens’ disputes. Therefore, citizens being the first priority, the first rule of the legislative power is the preservation of the society. All power is invested in this body by the majority; thus no one can challenge the power of the legislative body or pass laws of their own. However, the majority can always challenge the decisions of the legislative of course. Every member of society must obey the laws made by the legislative body. Limits to the power of the legislature include: the legislation must govern by fixed “promulgated established laws” that apply equally to everyone; these laws must be solely for the good of the people; and the legislature must not raise taxes on the property of the people without the people’s consent. “It is a power, that hath no other end but preservation, and therefore can never have a right to destroy, enslave, or designedly impoverish the subjects” (71). An important point Locke brings up though is that the legislation does not have the power to transfer its power—it cannot give the right to make laws to anyone else—since the people’s majority have placed this power with the legislative, and the majority’s will, being the only force more powerful than the legislature, cannot be contradicted. This section shows how Locke invests in a limited government; though he even states it is the supreme power, the legislature still has many limitations and rules.