why the state of war is an important one in the article by John Locke?

We should note that Locke's use of the term "war" really means "conflict," since he addresses clashes between individuals rather than nations. In the state of nature, the absence of authority requires individuals to protect themselves. In society, victims can appeal to a common authority for the resolution of disputes, when possible (there are times that this is impossible, as in Locke's justification for killing the thief). Locke's definition of what constitutes, justifies, and ends a state of war continues his explication of the natural foundation of government. We can see more and more how fundamentally all of Locke's ideas rest on the right to personal liberty, and in the next section we will see that he directly equates that libertywith property, making property the Treatise's most important subject.