How is the deepest purpose of a constitution to make governance legitimate?

Correct answer: By making governance based on people’s consent, rights, and rules

Direct answer: A is correct. Governance is legitimate when people can accept it as rightful, not merely obey it because they fear punishment. A constitution helps create legitimacy in several connected steps. It records the basic rules by which authority is obtained and exercised; it expresses the consent and common aspirations of the people; it protects rights; and it limits rulers through law. These features make government answerable rather than arbitrary. B is wrong because fear may produce obedience but not democratic legitimacy. C is wrong because one person’s will cannot replace commonly accepted constitutional rules. D is wrong because removing rights makes power less legitimate and less accountable. Memory cue: “Legitimacy means consent plus lawful, rights-respecting government.”