Final answer:
John Locke believed that government authority is derived from the consent of the governed, intended to safeguard natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. The concept of the social contract is central to Locke's theory, and if a government violates this agreement, the people have the right to replace it.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to John Locke, government authority is based on the consent of the governed. Locke's political theory suggests that a legitimate government arises to protect the natural rights of the people, primarily life, liberty, and property. In his influential work, Two Treatises of Government, Locke rejects the divine right of kings and pioneers the idea of the social contract.
Locke argues that individuals engage in a social contract by surrendering a portion of their freedom in exchange for the protection of their rights by the government. If a government fails to protect these rights or becomes tyrannical, it loses its legitimacy, and the people have the right to revolt and establish a new governing entity that will uphold these fundamental principles.