government theory

Chapter 36 On Political or Civil Society (1)
77．Since God created man as an animal that is not suitable for living alone, he can only force them to join the society out of human needs and preferences, and give them reason and language in order to maintain and enjoy social life.The first society was produced between husband and wife, which was the beginning of the society between parents and children; then the social relationship between master and servant was added.Though all these relations can, and usually do, combine to form a family, the master or mistress of which has some sort of dominion befitting the family; yet, as we shall see below, these societies, whether individually or jointly , is not enough to form a political society if we take into account the different purposes, relations, and scope of each society.

78．The relationship between husband and wife is based on a voluntary contract between a man and a woman.Although it mainly includes the common ownership and rights of each other's bodies necessary for reproduction (which is also its main purpose), it also has mutual support and assistance and a sharing of interests, which not only strengthens their mutual care. Necessary for the intimacy of their children, but also for their children in common, who are entitled to their upbringing and support until they are able to support themselves.

79．The union between a man and a woman is not only for procreation, but more importantly for the continuation of the race, so this union between a man and a woman, even after childbirth, should be maintained as long as it is necessary to raise and support children, because children should be born. Parental support until they are able to earn a living on their own.The lower animals are resolutely obedient to this rule established by the infinitely intelligent Creator.In those viviparous animals that feed on grass, the union between the sexes is no longer maintained after the act of mating, because the mother's milk is sufficient to maintain the nutrition of the young before they can eat grass by themselves, and the males only pass on the seeds without interfering Female animals or young animals cannot contribute to their growth.In beasts of prey, the combination of male and female is longer, because the female beast can not maintain her own survival and feed many young beasts only by herself, and preying on other animals is more labor-intensive than using grass as feed. A more dangerous way of life, which necessitates the maintenance of their common family by the male, since the young can only survive under the joint care of the male and female until they are able to hunt on their own.The situation is the same in all birds (except for some poultry, where the male does not have to feed and care for the young since there is enough feed), the young need food in the nest, and the sex continues to live until the young are able to fly and be alone. until foraging.

80．I think this is the main, if not the only, reason why the union of man and woman lasts longer than that of other animals.This is because it is possible for a woman to conceive, and in fact often to conceive again, when the child of a woman is not freed from dependence on the help and support of his parents, is unable to earn his own living, and has to get help from his parents for everything. Another child was born.In this case, the father, since it is his duty to care and raise his offspring, continues his conjugal relationship with the same woman; this lasts longer than in other animals, whose offspring are well-growthed before the season of rebirth comes. Self-sufficient, the union of the sexes is naturally terminated, and they are perfectly free until the god of marriage calls them again at his fixed season of the year to choose a new mate.One cannot fail to praise the wisdom of the great Creator here, who endowed man with a foresight and ability both to prepare for the future and to supply the needs of the present, making the social relationship of husband and wife more necessary than the union of the sexes of other animals. long-lasting, so as to encourage them to work hard, and to bring their interests closer together in order to provide for their common children and store food, but if the husband and wife marry at will or declare their dissolution easily, it will cause great harm to their common children. big damage.

81．But though these constraints in man make the conjugal bond stronger and more durable than that of other animals, there is no reason why the question should not be raised why this contract securing the birth and upbringing of children should not be like any other voluntary contract. , based on consent, or at a certain time, or under certain conditions to make it terminate?For in the nature and purpose of the matter it should not always be for life—I mean all such contracts which are in any case perpetual.

82．However, although husband and wife have only the same common relationship, different opinions are inevitable due to different understandings. Therefore, it is necessary to have the final decision-that is, the right to rule, which naturally makes The decision rests with the more able and able-bodied man.But this is limited to matters relating to their common interest and property, and otherwise the wife remains fully and freely entitled to her peculiar rights by contract, at least she does not give her husband any more power over her life than she enjoys power over the life of the husband.As the power of the husband is far less than that of a despot, the wives are in many cases at liberty to separate from their husbands, so far as their natural rights or their compacts, Whether it is established in the state or based on the customs or laws of the country where they live; and whether the children should belong to the father or the mother when they are separated is determined according to this contract.

83．All the ends for which marriage is to be attained are attained both under the government and in the state of nature, and the magistrate cannot deprive either of the husband and wife of those ends—namely, the begetting of children, and mutual support and assistance in their common life— And the necessary rights or powers can only be arbitrated when there is a dispute between husband and wife about these things.If this were not the case, if absolute sovereignty and power of life and death vested in the husband were necessary between husband and wife, there would be no marriage in any country where the husband is not permitted to have such absolute authority.But since the purpose of marriage does not require the husband to have this power, the conditions of conjugal society do not make him have it, since it is not at all necessary to the state of marriage.The society of husband and wife can exist and achieve its purpose without this power; as for the community of property, the right to dispose of it, mutual help and support, and other things belonging to the relationship between husband and wife, it can be based on the union of husband and wife. The social contract is different and adjusted so long as it does not violate the spirit of procreating and raising children until they are self-reliant.All that is not necessary for the purpose of forming other societies is not necessary for this society.

84．As to the society between parents and children, and the respective rights and powers which belong to both of them, I have discussed at length in the last chapter, and need not repeat it here; I think it is distinctly different from political society.

85．Master and servant are names as old as history, but the conditions of those who acquire them are different.A free man renders himself another man's servant by offering his service for a certain period of time in exchange for wages; However, the master only acquires the power over him, and cannot exceed the scope stipulated in the contract between them.But there is another class of servants, whom we call by a special name—slaves, who are captives taken in a just war, and are subject by their natural right to the absolute dominion and arbitrary dominion of their masters.These persons, as I said, have renounced their right to life, and thus their liberty, and their property—a man in a state of slavery cannot have any property—in that state , they cannot be considered members of any political society whose primary purpose is the protection of property.

86．Let us therefore consider the master of a family, with all the subordination of wives, children, servants, and slaves, united under the internal dominion of a small states, but they are very different in organization, power, and purpose.Or, if it must be regarded as a monarchy, in which the head of the family is the absolute monarch, then the absolute monarchy will have only a very unstable and short-lived power.For it is evident, from what has been said, that the head of a household has definite but varied and limited powers over the several members of the household, as far as time and extent are concerned.He has no power of life or death over any member of the family, except over the slaves (whether there are slaves in the family or not, he has as much power as the head of the family); of.Since he has only a very limited power over each member of the family, he cannot, of course, have absolute power over the whole family.But how a family, or any other society of men, differs from real political society, we will see clearly when we consider how political society itself is constituted.

87．It has been demonstrated, that man, being born with the right of perfect liberty, and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the powers and benefits of the law of nature, on an equal footing with any other man or many men in the world, has a natural right to him, not only to retain His property, that is, his life, liberty and property, is free from injury and violation by other persons, and he may judge and punish offenses which he considers justly deserved, even when he considers the gravity of the crime so warranted, death penalty.But a political society is not called a political society, nor can it continue to exist, if it does not itself have the power to protect property, and thus to punish the crimes of all in it; In this society he relinquishes this natural right, and commits to it all matters which do not preclude him from claiming the protection of the laws which it may establish.

(End of this chapter)