Key Idea: Topic 7.1 asks the founding question of Political Philosophy: what is the state, where does its power come from, and why (if ever) should you obey it? The state can jail you, tax you and send you to war — so it had better be able to justify itself. Master this topic and you have a ready-made answer for Paper 1 Section B, a 25-mark essay where you're handed a claim about the state and told to 'Evaluate' it.
🏛️ The four big questions, one card each
Topic 7.1 at a glance
- 7.1.1 · What is the state? — Don't mix up nation, country, government and state. A STATE is the lasting political authority over a territory that claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of force — the government is only the team currently running it.
- 7.1.2 · Where does its authority come from? — The social contract: imagine life with no state (the 'state of nature') to see what a state is for. Hobbes and Locke strike two very different deals; Rousseau adds the general will, Ibn Khaldun adds group solidarity.
- 7.1.3 · What makes a government legitimate? — Legitimacy is the RIGHT to rule, not just the power to. It flows two ways — rulers earn it and the ruled grant it — and when it runs out you reach revolution, or the anarchist claim that it never really existed.
- 7.1.4 · Do we owe the state obedience? — Political obligation: why obey laws you didn't personally agree to? Consent, fair play and gratitude all try to ground it — and each leaves room for justified disobedience when the state betrays its purpose.
Power is the ability to make people comply — through force, money or fear. Legitimacy is the RIGHT to rule, the thing that turns raw power into genuine authority you have reason to accept. A gang can have power; only a legitimate state has authority. Almost every Section B question on this topic is really asking you to test whether some source — consent, a contract, the general will, force — can turn power into legitimacy.
✍️ Bring it together — a Section B question
Evaluate the claim that a state is legitimate only if its citizens have consented to be ruled by it.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Describing views instead of evaluating the claim. Section B hands you a claim to weigh — don't just tour 'Hobbes thinks X, Locke thinks Y.' Argue FOR the claim, argue AGAINST it, test its key word (here, 'only' and what 'consent' means), and reach a reasoned conclusion. A name earns nothing without its argument, and a top answer never ends on 'it's all subjective'.
✅ Check yourself
If you can answer these six, you have the spine of the whole topic.
State vs government — what's the difference? The STATE is the lasting political authority over a territory (it claims a monopoly on legitimate force). The GOVERNMENT is only the team currently running it — governments change, the state continues.
What is the 'state of nature' for? A thought experiment imagining life with NO state, used to show what a state is for. Hobbes makes it a war of all against all; Locke makes it freer but insecure.
Hobbes vs Locke — two deals? Hobbes: to escape chaos we hand almost all power to a sovereign and obey. Locke: we set up a state only to protect our rights, and it can lose our trust and be replaced.
Power vs legitimacy? Power is the ability to make people comply (force, money, fear). Legitimacy is the RIGHT to rule — what turns raw power into authority you have reason to accept.
What do Rousseau and Ibn Khaldun add? Rousseau: legitimate power expresses the general will of the people as a body. Ibn Khaldun: states rise and fall on group solidarity, not just contracts.
What is the anarchist challenge? No state can be truly legitimate, so obedience is never really owed — any imposed authority is a kind of coercion dressed up as a right.
Exam Tips
- Political Philosophy is optional → Paper 1 Section B: a 25-mark essay with NO stimulus. You're handed a claim and told to 'Evaluate' it.
- Find the load-bearing word in the claim ('only', 'always', 'never') and make evaluating it the spine of your essay.
- Name a thinker ONLY with their argument — Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau earn marks only when you use them to argue.
- Always argue both sides and end on a reasoned conclusion, never a list and never 'it's just opinion'.