Which philosophers influenced Louis XVI’s concessions?

• A. Aristotle and Plato
• B. Descartes and Spinoza
• C. Kant and Hegel
• D. Rousseau, Locke, and other philosophes

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how Enlightenment thinking about government and rights encouraged rulers to compromise under pressure. Rousseau argued that legitimate authority comes from the people and should align with the general will, while Locke insisted that government exists to protect natural rights—life, liberty, and property—and that people have a right to alter or replace a government that oversteps its bounds. When Louis XVI faced demands for constitutional reform, these philosophes provided intellectual backing for concessions, such as recognizing representative bodies and moving toward limited authority within a constitutional framework. The other clusters of thinkers—Aristotle and Plato, Descartes and Spinoza, or Kant and Hegel—were influential in different eras or in different strands of thought and did not directly shape the king’s willingness to concede in the revolutionary moment.