Wiktionary
n. (context government political science philosophy English) A political theory in which a government or set of governments could only be deemed legitimate if it is supported by the people under which it exercises its political influence.
Wikipedia
In political philosophy, the phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and legal when consented to by the people or society over which that political power is exercised. This theory of consent is historically contrasted to the divine right of kings and has often been invoked against the legitimacy of colonialism. Article 21 of the United Nation's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government".
Usage examples of "consent of the governed".
They were citizens, and they were important: all government depends on the consent of the governed, and Garric had neither the stomach nor the strength to compel that consent with the edge of a sword.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of HappinessThat to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
They believed that political authority was, or should be, derived from the consent of the governed and that its goal was the general good.
Thus the simple might makes right ape formula was to become a more interactive society, with a leader governing not merely by physical strength, but by the consent of the governed, or at least the support of other males.