Which author wrote Leviathan and argued for a strong sovereign to escape the state of nature?

Which author wrote Leviathan and argued for a strong sovereign to escape the state of nature?

• A. Thomas Hobbes
• B. John Locke
• C. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• D. Thomas Rainsborough

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is identifying who argued that a strong centralized authority is needed to escape the state of nature. In Leviathan, the thinker describes life in the state of nature as a perpetual condition of war and fear, where no one is secure. To escape that chaos, people form a social contract and grant all their rights to a single, centralized power—the sovereign—whose authority must be absolute in order to enforce peace and prevent a slide back into disorder. That argument is the work of Thomas Hobbes. The other figures advocate different visions: John Locke argues for limited government and the right to resist when natural rights are violated; Jean-Jacques Rousseau emphasizes the general will and popular sovereignty rather than an absolute ruler; Thomas Rainsborough is a historical figure not associated with this theory. So Hobbes is the author who wrote Leviathan and advocated a strong sovereign to escape the state of nature.

The main idea being tested is identifying who argued that a strong centralized authority is needed to escape the state of nature. In Leviathan, the thinker describes life in the state of nature as a perpetual condition of war and fear, where no one is secure. To escape that chaos, people form a social contract and grant all their rights to a single, centralized power—the sovereign—whose authority must be absolute in order to enforce peace and prevent a slide back into disorder. That argument is the work of Thomas Hobbes. The other figures advocate different visions: John Locke argues for limited government and the right to resist when natural rights are violated; Jean-Jacques Rousseau emphasizes the general will and popular sovereignty rather than an absolute ruler; Thomas Rainsborough is a historical figure not associated with this theory. So Hobbes is the author who wrote Leviathan and advocated a strong sovereign to escape the state of nature.