This power could be formed in the framework of a civil society that allows individuals to make a voluntary social contract with the sovereign authority, transferring their natural rights to that authority in return for the protection of life, liberty, and property.
Moralne in politične predpostavke liberalizma so nastale na podlagi tradicije, kot so naravne pravice in utilitaristične teorije, čeprav včasih liberalci zahtevajo tudi podporo iz znanstvenih in verskih krogov.