Final answer:
John Locke believed that people gain natural rights through birthright, and these rights include life, liberty, and property, which governments are formed to protect.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to John Locke, people gain natural rights through birthright. Locke's philosophy, presented in his Second Treatise of Government, is that individuals are born into a state of nature with certain inalienable rights, namely life, liberty, and property. These rights are not granted by the government or any other entity, and they cannot be taken away or given up. Locke believed that individuals enter into a social contract to form a government whose primary role is to protect these natural rights. Hence, the correct answer to the question is A) Through birthright.Locke's significant contribution to political philosophy lies in his assertion that legitimate government is based upon popular sovereignty, which means that government authority is derived from the consent of the governed. The duty of the government is to safeguard the natural rights of the people, which exist prior to and independently of any social contract or governmental establishment.