Consent of the Governed

Where it surfaces

• Two Treatises of Government

  The second treatise is described as an essay concerning the true original, extent, and end of civil government, implying a foundation in consent rather than divine right.

• II: Of Paternal and Regal Power

  Locke argues that if Filmer's foundation fails, governments must be 'made by contrivance, and the consent of men,' emphasizing the role of popular consent in political society.

• X: Of the Heir to Adam’s Monarchical Power

  By exposing the incoherence of hereditary divine right, Locke implicitly argues that legitimate government must rest on consent rather than inheritance from Adam.

• XI: Who Heir?

  Locke implies that without a clear divine designation, government must rest on human prudence and consent, not on an unknowable hereditary right.

• Book II: Of Civil Government

  Legitimate government is established through the consent of the people, not by hereditary or divine right.

• Of Political or Civil Society

  Locke emphasizes that civil society arises from voluntary compact and that all members, including the legislature, are subject to laws they have consented to.

• Of the Beginning of Political Societies

  Central to the chapter: Locke asserts that all legitimate political power originates from the consent of free individuals to unite into a community.

• X: Of the Forms of a Commonwealth

  The majority's power to establish and change the form of government underscores that political authority originates from the consent of the community.

• XI: Of the Extent of the Legislative Power

  Taxation requires the consent of the people or their representatives; legislative power is a delegated trust from the people.

• XIII: Of the Subordination of the Powers of the Commonwealth

  Locke emphasizes that the legislative power is a fiduciary trust derived from the people, who retain the supreme power to alter or remove it when it acts contrary to their trust.

• XIV: Of Prerogative

  The people's acquiescence to prerogative when used for good, and their right to limit it when abused, underscores that legitimate power rests on the consent of the governed.

• XV: Of Paternal, Political, and Despotical Power, Considered Together

  Political power originates from compact and mutual consent of individuals forming a community.

• XVI: Of Conquest

  Locke emphasizes that no government can be legitimately established without the consent of the people, even after conquest.

• Of Usurpation

  Locke asserts that an usurper has no right to be obeyed until the people have freely consented to his rule, reinforcing that legitimate authority derives from popular consent.

• Of the Dissolution of Government

  Government is founded on the people's consent; when the legislative is altered without popular appointment, laws lack authority and the people may constitute a new legislative.

• Endnotes

  Hooker's quotations emphasize that laws derive their authority from the consent of the people, and that no one can be commanded without their agreement.