Consent Of The Governed Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The consent of the governed traditionally refers to acts of consent that people have performed in regard to their government. During the late Middle Ages, consent was viewed as central to political legitimacy, while since roughly the seventeenth century, individuals’ own consent has been believed to be the main reason they are morally required to obey government. The main thrust of the doctrine is to limit the power of government and to make sure its actions are consistent with what people can accept.

The consent of the governed emerged as an important political idea in medieval Europe, as rulers of different territories began to consult with notable members of their polities. For example the English “model parliament” met for the first time in 1295 and the French Estates-Generals in 1302. Actions approved by such bodies literally had the consent of the governed—although only a small slice of the overall population. In subsequent centuries, amidst struggles to limit royal authority, arguments were developed according to which power originated in the people and was transferred to the king (through the “social contract”) conditionally. The people agreed to obey if the king ruled justly. Especially sophisticated statements were worked out in the church by “conciliar” theorists, attempting to limit the power of the pope, and during the religious and political turmoil of the Protestant Reformation. But in spite of the forcefulness of late medieval and sixteenth– century treatises, the theorists’ views fell short of a modern conception. They conceive of the community as a whole consenting—through its representatives—opposed to the modern notion, which turns upon the consent of each individual.

The locus classicus for the modern view is John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. According to Locke, to avoid conflicts that arise in an otherwise relatively peaceful state of nature, people agree to common authority. Since individuals are naturally free, only their own consent can place them under political authority. They are not bound by agreements entered into by their forebears, such as an original contract at the founding of society. However, recognizing that most people have not “expressly” agreed to be governed, Locke turns to what he calls “tacit consent,” which are other actions that constitute consent and thus capable of binding people. Most notable is simply remaining in a given territory. Although this would ground political obligations for virtually all inhabitants, in making consent accomplished so easily, Locke renders the need for actual acts of consent virtually insignificant. In spite of this and other problems, Locke’s view was enormously influential, drawn upon, for example, in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, which speaks of governments “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” David Hume, in his essay “Of the Original Contract,” classically—and fatally—criticized Locke’s view of consent on historical grounds. Like Locke, Hume believes that most people have not consented expressly to government, since they have no recollection of doing so. Yet he rejects Locke’s view of tacit consent. Since most people lack the resources and ability to leave their territories, their presence cannot be said to constitute consent.

Since the time of Hume, theorists have attempted to identify other actions performed by all or most citizens that constitute consent. Notable examples are voting or serving in the military. But none of these bears scrutiny. Immanuel Kant was responsible for an important theoretical advance in viewing consent as purely hypothetical, rather than an actual historical occurrence. According to this line of argument, a government is legitimate only if people would consent to it if given the opportunity. But in spite of difficulties in identifying acts of consent that have actually been performed, the idea continues to epitomize people’s right to governments they accept, and to withdraw their consent, with possibly revolutionary implications, when they find government no longer acceptable.

Bibliography:

Hume, David. “Of the Original Contract.” In Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, rev. ed., edited by E. Miller. Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty Classics, 1985.
Kant, Immanuel. “On the Common Saying: ‘This May Be True in Theory, But It Does Not Apply in Practice.’” In Kant’s Political Writings, translated and edited by H. Reiss. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government, edited by P. Laslett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Simmons, A. John. Moral Principles and Political Obligations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979.