many people live under a government who have never authorized it to make decisions for them. So how can a state legitimately have that power? Locke’s answer is the doctrine of tacit consent. When a person receives the benefits of a society, Locke contends that he is accepting the obligations that society imposes. Locke writes, “[E]very man, that hath any Possession, or Enjoyment, of any part of the Dominions of any Government, doth thereby give his tacit Consent, and is as far forth obliged to Obedience to the laws of that government, during such enjoyment, as any one under it.”[3] Thus, if one receives benefits, one incurs obligations.