You can trace it to Hobbes and Locke or to Renaissance Jesuits, but one way or another, we will have the idea of the social contract and the consent of the government. One way or another we need the idea that rulers are responsible to the people and that people can revolt against tyranny. What makes Locke so special and so good or so bad?
Great link, but for today, I think Kendall's book "Baseball: How To Play It And How To Watch It" would be a better read.
Oh, how right you are.