Question

Which of the following best represents a view supported by the

Enlightenment followers?
A.
justice will come from equality
B.
the best and brightest should rule
C.
people are good and want the same things
D.
people can govern themselves in a republic

Answer 1

D. People can govern themselves in a republic.

Step-by-step explanation:

Two examples of Enlightenment views in support of people's ability to govern themselves would be the thinking of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

According to Locke's view, a government's power to govern comes from the consent of the people themselves -- those who are to be governed. He argued for a representative form of government in which legislators were put in place by having the majority of people supporting them. Then the leaders would need to govern in such a way that the people's rights to life, liberty, and property were protected.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), in his landmark book, The Social Contract, strongly championed the sovereignty of the people (rather than thinking of kings as the "sovereign" ones). Rousseau contended that the "general will" of the people is always right -- in the sense that the people will, collectively, make decisions that are good for them as a society.