Part 2 Chapter 18 Summary and Analysis

As stated in the previous chapter, a political commonwealth is instituted when a group of men agree to it. Once the commonwealth is established, all rights are bestowed upon the people the commonwealth represents.

The representative of the commonwealth is called the sovereign power, whether it is an individual or an assembly. There are various rights the sovereign assumes from its subjects. The first is that once the commonwealth is established, people cannot change their minds and go back to living freely. In addition, the subjects of a monarchy cannot change their minds after establishing the monarchy and change from it to a disunited multitude, or give the sovereign power to another person. The second is that the sovereign cannot be forfeited and none of his people can be freed from his subjection. Thirdly, the people cannot protest against...