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Why did Locke believe majority decisions could bind citizens?

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The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below. — Political philosophy Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

In John Locke’s political philosophy, the authority of the state is derived from a social contract in which individuals consent to form a civil government to remedy the inconveniences of the state of nature.12

Locke believed that once individuals have united into a community by common consent, the body must act as one, which necessitates that the will of the majority prevails. This is essential because it is physically impossible for a community to function if every individual must agree on every action; without the principle of majority rule, the body could not act or persist as a single unit.3

This arrangement is morally sanctioned because the government’s purpose is to protect the public good, specifically the life, liberty, and property of its citizens, within the bounds of the law of nature. Consequently, citizens are bound by majority decisions because they have consented to be part of a collective body tasked with enforcing natural law, provided that the government continues to act in accordance with its limited, legitimate purpose.3145