Abstract
T he theory of tacit consent which Locke puts forward in his Second Treatise is interesting because it shows the lengths to which Locke was driven in order to maintain that government power and authority must be based on consent. The attempt to make consent central to the justification of government occurs throughout the history of philosophy. I believe this attempt is doomed to failure. Locke's difficulties show nicely the problems involved, so it is worth looking carefully into his attempt. Locke invents his theory of tacit consent to solve a problem created for his account of power by his view that legitimate power is founded on consent. Let us begin our investigation of Locke's views by trying to understand what he means by political power. Locke says the following by way of explaining what [he] take[s] to be Political Power:1
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