Which outcome reflects the Enlightenment belief that governments should be based on the consent of the governed and protect rights?

Which outcome reflects the Enlightenment belief that governments should be based on the consent of the governed and protect rights?

• A. Absolute monarchy strengthened
• B. Democratic governments established through revolution
• C. Church authority increased
• D. Mercantile empire expanded

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that political power comes from the people who agree to be governed, and governments exist to protect people’s rights. The Enlightenment introduced the social contract: rulers derive legitimacy from the consent of the governed and have a duty to safeguard natural rights such as liberty and equality. When governments violate that consent, revolutions arise to replace them with systems that reflect the will of the people and a pledge to protect rights. Democratic governments established through revolution embody this belief because they replace authority with rule by the people and place rights at the center of political life. Absolute monarchy strengthens control without consent and often without protecting individual rights, so it doesn’t reflect the Enlightenment idea. Increasing church authority concentrates power away from citizens, undermining consent and rights. Expanding a mercantile empire is about economic power rather than the legitimacy of government based on the people’s consent or protection of rights.

The main idea here is that political power comes from the people who agree to be governed, and governments exist to protect people’s rights. The Enlightenment introduced the social contract: rulers derive legitimacy from the consent of the governed and have a duty to safeguard natural rights such as liberty and equality. When governments violate that consent, revolutions arise to replace them with systems that reflect the will of the people and a pledge to protect rights. Democratic governments established through revolution embody this belief because they replace authority with rule by the people and place rights at the center of political life.

Absolute monarchy strengthens control without consent and often without protecting individual rights, so it doesn’t reflect the Enlightenment idea. Increasing church authority concentrates power away from citizens, undermining consent and rights. Expanding a mercantile empire is about economic power rather than the legitimacy of government based on the people’s consent or protection of rights.