| A | B |
|---|
| Natural law | The belief that there are unwritten rules governing all aspects of human activity |
| Thomas Hobbes | Believed that humans in a natural state are cruel and murderous towards each other and must have an absolute ruler over them to live a civilized life |
| John Locke | Believed that humans are in a contract relationship with their rulers and if the ruler does not uphold the contract he/she may be removed |
| Social contract | The idea that people's relation to their rulers are governed by an unwritten contract |
| philosophe | Enlightenment scholars who believed that people should think for themselves rather than mindlessly accept tradition |
| Montesquieu | Legal scholar who championed the ideas that separate branches of government should check and limit each other's power |
| Voltaire | French historian and social critic who thought of Britain's limited monarchy as a pattern for France |
| Rousseau | Believed that individuals should live without excessive government relation in what he described as a "state of nature" |
| laissez faire | The idea that businesses and individuals should be allowed as much freedom to develop as possible without government regulation |
| Adam Smith | Scottish economist who believed that businesses naturally regulate themselves with little need for government regulation |
