Read the passage and answer the following question.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes
destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
government."
-Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
Which of the following ideas does the author of the passage advocate?