Political Science I / The Liberal State and Its Contracts
Practice question · Fill in the blanks

Complete the account of liberal theory.

Hobbes concluded that the contract yields an ______ sovereign, while Locke held that government holds power in ______ and may be resisted when it is broken. Montesquieu supplied the mechanism by which power checks power, the separation of ______. Pateman argued that the social contract presupposed a prior ______ contract.

Word bank: absolute · trust · powers · sexual · general · natural

Hints
  1. The first two blanks separate Hobbes from Locke on resistance.
  2. The last blank names Pateman's book.
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Hobbes concluded that the contract yields an absolute sovereign, while Locke held that government holds power in trust and may be resisted when it is broken. Montesquieu supplied the mechanism by which power checks power, the separation of powers. Pateman argued that the social contract presupposed a prior sexual contract.

Why

The four blanks span the tradition and its sharpest internal critique. Note that Pateman is working inside contract theory rather than dismissing it: her claim is about what the argument required in order to work, which is why it is harder to answer than an external objection.

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