Jonathan McIntosh: "I didn't agree to that!" - Consent and Other Theories of Political Obligation

The George Buchanan Forum

Does government derive its legitimacy from the consent of the governed? In the modern era, the doctrine of consent has become so popular as to be commonplace, yet it is far from clear what it would actually mean for government to be truly based on consent, or how such a theory is to be reconciled with other Christian convictions on authority, custom, tradition, and submission. This presentation traces some of the notable moments in the history of consent theory from the Middle Ages to the present, seeking to clarify just what the Declaration of Independence, for example, means when it says that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at https://www.tgbf.org/