The Source of Government Power
Leaving aside, for a moment, the question of the divine origin of rights, it is obvious that a government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain responsibilities which have been authorized.
It stands to reason that the government itself has no innate power or privilege to do anything.
Its only source of authority and power is from the people who have created it.
This is made clear in the Preamble to the Constitution for the United States, which reads: "WE THE PEOPLE...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place.
Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess. So, the question boils down to this. What powers properly belong to each and every person in the absence of and prior to the establishment of any organized governmental form?
A hypothetical question? Yes, indeed! But, it is a question which is vital to an understanding of the principles which underlie the proper function of government.
Ezra Benson.
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To bad they don't teach principles in 'law school'.