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What Legitimizes Authority? What is authority? In the most basic sense it is the power to command or order. Power is associated with authority. For many, power is the ability to get something done even when there is an opposing force. When asking the question what legitimizes authority it is believed that the consent of the people legitimizes it. When one thinks of authority the government comes into mind. The government holds the authority to …

…God did not give authority. He believed that governments should be ruled by the consent of the people of which they are governing. Locke held the idea that democracy should be the authority of the government. Authority gives the government right to govern. We as people strive to have an equal government, one that includes our agreement. It is necessary that we agree to the government in order to ensure our freedom and natural rights.