Chapters 11- 15, pp. 182 - 204 Summary and Analysis

The fundamental law of nature involves man's joining into society and establishing legislative power. The first fundamental natural law is to preserve the society and the people in it. The people hold the legislative to be supreme and unalterable and above the edict of some other power. It is backed by the force and obligation of law, and the authority to make laws comes from the members of the community.

People in the community cannot transfer more power than they have. The power of the community represents the joint power of all of the members of that community. The power of the legislator is for the good of all members of that society and not just to benefit a few members of the society. This means that the purpose of the power cannot be to...