The first principle of a civilized state is that the power is

In this profound reflection, Walter Lippmann speaks to the very foundation of a civilized state. He declares that power is legitimate only when it is under contract, meaning that authority must not arise from mere force or the will of the few, but from a mutual agreement between rulers and the ruled. This is the essence of a social contract — the invisible bond that transforms raw power into rightful governance. Without such a contract, power is tyranny, and the state ceases to be a guardian of its people, becoming instead their oppressor.

The first principle Lippmann describes is rooted in the philosophy of thinkers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who argued that governments are created by the consent of the governed. In this vision, citizens surrender certain freedoms to a collective authority, but only in exchange for protection, justice, and the preservation of their rights. If rulers break this sacred trust, the contract is void, and the people have not only the right but the duty to resist. Thus, legitimacy is not inherited, seized, or divine; it is earned through accountability and service to the common good.

History offers countless examples of this truth. The Magna Carta of 1215 was one of the earliest written contracts limiting the power of a king. Faced with rebellion, King John of England agreed to respect certain rights of his nobles, planting the seeds for constitutional governance. Centuries later, the American Revolution was born from the same principle: when the British crown violated its unwritten contract with the colonies through taxation without representation, the people rose up and declared their independence. These moments reveal how deeply the idea of contractual power is woven into the story of human freedom.

Lippmann’s warning also speaks to the dangers of forgetting this principle. When governments grow distant from their people, relying on coercion rather than consent, they drift toward chaos and collapse. The fall of the Roman Republic offers a grim lesson: as leaders like Julius Caesar concentrated unchecked power, the republic’s fragile balance shattered, giving way to dictatorship and the eventual ruin of Roman liberty. Without the restraint of contract, even the mightiest state crumbles under the weight of its own hubris.

Thus, Lippmann’s words are both a guiding light and a stern admonition. A civilized state is not measured by wealth, armies, or monuments, but by the trust between its people and its leaders. Power that flows from consent is like a river that nourishes the land; power seized by force is like a flood that destroys everything in its path. For future generations, this teaching stands as a timeless truth: to preserve freedom, we must ensure that every act of governance springs from the sacred covenant of the social contract, where rulers serve, and the people’s voice is sovereign.