X (Of the Forms of a Commonwealth) - The community can choose to design a pure democracy, an oligarchy, a hereditary or elective monarchy, or mix and match these pieces at will. The most important element in the design of a commonwealth is the form of the legislature, which ultimately gives the commonwealth its character.
XI (Of the Extent of the Legislative Power) - The power of the legislature is not unlimited. Indeed, it has precisely those limits that each man in the state of nature was limited to unto himself. That man had no authority to compel the life or property of any other. Nor does the legislature have the authority to seize the property of any citizen without his due consent. (Otherwise, how could a legislature of such power have earned the consent of that citizen to begin with?)
The laws emanating from the legislature must be written and clear, never arbitrary.
How important is this limitation? Even in the case where a superior military officer does have the authority to risk the life of his subordinate, he does not have the authority to compel his subordinate's money or other property. So there.
To that end, it is better to design a legislature so as to prevent long-serving members from thinking themselves as having the power over the estates of the remainder of the citizenry. This is especially a danger when that legislator believes himself to doing so for the improved good of the community-- in fact, this is the ultimate danger of any commonwealth. It is always illegitimate, for it directly deprives the citizens of the nature rights they would have possessed under the state of nature, which are inalienable, no matter the good intent.
Of course, it is necessary for there to be a power of taxation. But it must always occur through the consent of the taxed. Period.
It is also illegitimate for the legislators to cede any ounce of legislative power to any other person or body-- for this is not the original agreement of the members of society, and deprives them of their original rights.
XII (The Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power of the Commonwealth) - The legislature need not continually meet-- in fact, it's better if it doesn't. It only needs to quickly write the law, then return to live among the citizenry under that same law. Therefore, it is important that the same body not actually administer the law. Instead, the continually operating part of the government is the executive.
A third function of government is the regulation of affairs with other societies-- called the "federative" powers. The state of affairs between separate commonwealths is not unlike the state of nature between individual men. Accordingly, these affairs cannot always be administered under previously established rules; more flexibility is required, often instant flexibility. In practice, it is very likely that the federative powers will be wielded by the same exective as administers domestic affairs.
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OK, but what kind of consent is needed for the legislature to legitimately take the property of the citizens through taxation? The process ought to be spelled out in as much detail as is feasible-- probably nothing else in the design of government is as important.
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