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Locke

John Locke anchors liberty in natural rights and consent, arguing that government exists to protect life, liberty, and property—and loses legitimacy when it fails to do so. Locke’s liberal theory of government had a profound influence on the founders of the United States of America. By making authority conditional on the trust of the governed, he articulates a cornerstone of modern freedom: power is just only when it rests on consent and serves rights that precede it.