What does "government would derive its power from the consent of the governed." mean?

Question

"the Mayflower Compact was in essence a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the rules and regulations of the government for the sake of survival. The government, in return, would derive its power from the consent of the governed."
I was researching on the Mayflower Compact and I find that last sentence pretty difficult to understand. So if anyone can please help give me briefly on what that phrase means. I'd appreciate that.

Answer 1

A government has no power over the people, unless the people it is in charge of want to be governed. In other words, the government is powerless unless the people it rules over gives it power.

Answer 2

"Because I do it with one small ship, I am called a terrorist. You do it with a whole fleet and are called an emperor."
~A pirate, from St. Augustine's "City of God"

What pirate in the quote is getting at is the legitimacy of the state, where it comes from and why? This is an important question because the state is a unique authority. A Doctor is an authority of type however if you don't want to follow doctor's orders you don't have to. That is not true with state, it has the power of death, force and war. Why, or if, we view it as legitimate is an important question to explore.

Your quote from the Mayflower Compact explains that origin of authority. The settlers submit in exchange for protection, the settlers deem the government legitimate because of their participation in it.

I hope that helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

It seems a contradiction, doesn't it? A social contract, if written down, would read something like, "I hereby grant permission to the government to control my behavior through force." And why would anyone agree to such a thing? Beats me. There was a popular myth back then that persists to today that says that a government is a useful thing to have. But governments in general cause more problems than they solve. I would rather see a social contract that says, "I hereby agree not to form a government, nor to participate in one, because governments deal in force rather than consent."

Answer 4

Basically the people would vote on the rules they would follow, and it was up to the government to make sure the people followed the rules voted upon.

The voters give the government the power they have, and the government in turn governs them with the rules the voters agreed were to be enforced.

Answer 5

In a monarchy, the monarch is considered to have received his/her authority from God: God gives the authority or power to the monarch, who loans it to the people.

In a democracy, God gives power to the people who loan it to the government. The statement in the Mayflower Compact that you are referring to, in essence, is stating that they will have a democracy not a monarchy, which is what they were escaping.

Answer 6

It is very true that "It is the first job of every citizen to question the authority of the State" but sadly most people dont do their own thinking. Is a major reason we are in such a mess

Answer 7

The people should give their consent to whatever action the government would take. It is not up to them to decide for us, we have to give them permission as we are the ones being governed.

Answer 8

I means that a govt does not exist for its own sake -- it exists solely for the benefit of the people -- and can exist only if the people allow (consent) it to remain.