Introduction

He start by explaining what government is and how it functions, making a clear distinction between society and government. He describes society as a positive force that emerges from people's shared feelings, whereas government is a necessary evil that exists only to prevent people from being bad. In other words, government is needed only when people can't be good on their own. Since the purpose of government is to keep people free, the best kind of government is one with the fewest rules. In contrast, the English constitution is overly complicated and simply legalizes existing injustices.