Which concept describes the agreement between citizens and their government?

Which concept describes the agreement between citizens and their government?

• A. Divine right
• B. Social contract
• C. Feudal obligation
• D. Popular sovereignty

Answer: (B)

Governments gain legitimacy through a contract with the people. The social contract holds that individuals consent to form a society and to be governed in exchange for the protection of their basic rights. Authority comes from this consent, and if rulers fail to uphold rights or protect citizens, people have the right to change or remove them. This idea appears in early modern political thought with thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, each framing the contract in its own way but all tying government power to the consent of the governed. Divine right says rulers derive authority from God, not from an agreement with the people. Feudal obligation describes duties between lords and vassals in a medieval hierarchy, not a modern citizen-government pact. Popular sovereignty asserts that ultimate political power rests with the people, but it focuses on where authority resides rather than the negotiated exchange of obedience for protection that defines the social contract.

Governments gain legitimacy through a contract with the people. The social contract holds that individuals consent to form a society and to be governed in exchange for the protection of their basic rights. Authority comes from this consent, and if rulers fail to uphold rights or protect citizens, people have the right to change or remove them. This idea appears in early modern political thought with thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, each framing the contract in its own way but all tying government power to the consent of the governed.

Divine right says rulers derive authority from God, not from an agreement with the people. Feudal obligation describes duties between lords and vassals in a medieval hierarchy, not a modern citizen-government pact. Popular sovereignty asserts that ultimate political power rests with the people, but it focuses on where authority resides rather than the negotiated exchange of obedience for protection that defines the social contract.