What term describes Hobbes's idea that political authority arises from a covenant with a sovereign to escape the state of nature?

• A. Divine Right
• B. Popular Sovereignty
• C. Natural Law
• D. Social Contract

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is the social contract—the notion that political authority rests on an agreement among individuals to give up some freedoms in exchange for order and protection provided by a sovereign. In Hobbes’s view, life in the state of nature would be a perpetual struggle with no security, so people consent to a covenant that establishes a central authority with the power to enforce peace. The legitimacy of this authority comes from that consent to escape chaos, not from divine decree or from the people’s later voting power, and not from universal moral law. Divine Right locates authority in God’s will, not a human agreement; Popular Sovereignty says rulers derive authority from the people generally, often in democratic settings; Natural Law refers to universal moral principles that govern behavior, not the source of political power in Hobbes. Social contract is the term that captures the specific idea of a covenant with a sovereign to escape the state of nature.