Analysis of John Locke's Second Treatise: Ch V and VII - Essay Example

This conjugal family then is very different from the political system of absolute monarchy, which forms its basis on providing one man with all the power of governing the people of the country and thus complete discretion over decisions that regulate affairs of welfare, state and property. This brings about a stupendous imbalance of power and thus, is neither in favor of sexual equality or liberal politics of the modern age. Conjugal Family The conjugal family forms the very first society that existed with the advent of Adam and Eve.

Adam was born with complete “possession of strength and reason” (Locke 19) and therefore was free from the strains of dependency and lack of reasoning skills that newborns exhibit from birth throughout their early years. The same was the case with Eve. The two exhibited a conjugal bond with each other. The societies that came about henceforth were formed of their dependants. Thus, there was an intrinsic responsibility and reliance placed on Adam and Eve as the master and mistress of their immediate dependants.

This family system places congenital controls in the hands of the master and the mistress (or father and mother) regarding all who fall under the realm of the household, whether it is children or slaves. Adam and Eve were in charge of nourishing and preserving their offspring since, unlike them, their offspring were born of natural birth and were therefore devoid of the law of reason. This places parental power in the hands of Adam and Eve and their subsequent lineage who are consequently placed under the same responsibility for their issues.

However, the conjugal nature of this family makes this control neither absolute (since they do not possess the power to take someone’s life) nor political (as in a monarchy). The child is only bound to his parents until he submits to reason and is no longer considered ignorant of the law of reason. At this point, the parental power that both the master and mistress (or the father and the mother exercised) ceases to exist. Differences between Patriarchal family and Conjugal family Patriarchal family or paternal family places the dominion of control and power squarely in the hands of the father.

Between the father and mother, the father is considered superior and is capable of making decisions that extend to the breath of his household, affecting everyone that come under it. Thus, the father exercised as much a filial role as he did a political one, capable of legislating as well as effecting measures that execute those legislations. In essence, he was the monarch of the household and by example, such family structure translated into the monarchial system of governance which effectively placed dominating power under the emblem of one individual, who could exercise it without fear of retribution or repercussions and effectively deny individuals their natural right of freedom and consequently, any incentive to work for the state.

In contrast, the conjugal family concentrated the obligations within the family, where emphasis was placed on the institution of marriage and the power was deemed shared between the father and the mother over the children. This structure placed a responsibility on the ruling entities (the parents) till such time as the children acquired the knowledge and