consent of the governed

1. A condition urged by many as a requirement for legitimate government: that the authority of a government should depend on the consent of the people, as expressed by votes in elections. (See Declaration of Independence, democracy, and John Locke.)

Example Sentences

An emperor or king who rules not by the consent of the governed, but by divine right.

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An emperor or king who rules not by the consent of the governed, but by divine right.

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But in the U.S., consent of the governed has not been necessary to continue the axis of genocide.

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The authoritarian playbook only succeeds if the people fail to recognize that the government’s survival depends on the consent of the governed.

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These included such ideas as the fundamental equality of all human beings, the view that government derives its authority from the consent of the governed, and the existence of those “certain unalienable rights” mentioned in the U.S.

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