th origins in the state of nature and given to man by God; and (3) the right to be protected in life and property by the government in exchange for some of the absolute rights and liberties which they had in the state of nature. Again, Locke was relatively successful in devising a society and government in which liberties and security were balanced, although property rights and their emphasis in his government inevitably give greater power to those who own more property.
For Locke, equality among human beings is an essential element of the state of nature. However, conflict resulting from human shortcomings and the inability or unwillingness to reason clearly in every situation creates the need for a civil society and the resultant security for life and property: "Thus we are born free as we are born rational; not that we have actually the exercise of either" (Locke 35). In fact, it is impossible to be truly free and suicidal to be completely rational in the "state of war
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