In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, his entire political philosophy hinges upon the fact that humans are moral equals and thus unable to legitimately govern or impose rules upon another without that other person’s consent. For Locke, the perfect answer to this is entitled express consent. According to Locke, “[n]o body doubts but an express consent, of any man entering into any society, makes him a perfect member of that society, a subject of that government” (Locke 64). Express consent is the perfect way to bind the original members together. This however, raises many difficulties for Locke once critics begin to question how someone can consent to a system of government for which they never expressly consented or gave their agreement; simply stated, they were not the founding members, and thus how can it be argued that they are legitimately ruled by the government? Locke’s rebuttal is tacit … Read More

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