the exchange as it sees fit. If this function of the state is considered supreme or is allowed jurisdiction over even the first sphere of freedoms, any further discussion of liberty is ineffective and redundant. Mill clearly seeks to limit the freedom of men and guaranteeing some measure of residual power to be exercised by the state at will. Having examined the level or amount of freedom Locke, Rousseau, and Mill advocate for man in political society, a closer examination of the rational or reasoning which they used to develop their position will clarify the issue further. The view of man and his natural inclination toward good or evil is crucial and fundamental in the formation of their views regarding political society in general and how much freedom man should have in it. The importance of this issue lies in their ability to legitimize their conclusions about society based on the necessity of accommodating the natural inclinations of man. Tyranny can easily be justified under the guise of protecting the weak from the natural predatory tendencies of stronger men. Locke and Rousseau are adamant in their declaration that man is naturally inclined toward good. Locke’s belief in the value of man and his ability to act independently in compliance with natural law contributed more to his views regarding freedom than did his positions regarding the function of the state. Several positions which Locke and Rousseau hold to be true regarding man warrant this conclusion. First is Locke's definition of the state of nature as "men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth with authority to judge between them…" (Ebenstein 375) Secondly Locke's contention that in the state of nature that man has the right to punish "the crime for restraint and preventing the like offense, which right of punishing is in everybody; the other of taking reparation, which belongs only to the injured party..." (Ebenstein 376) Loc...
