Liberal Theories of Origin of the State

The Force theory and the divine origin theory both attribute the origin of the State to one of the factors—force or divine dispensation. They are as such mono-causal theories of origin of the State. While one highlights the domination–submission aspect of human relationship, the other bases itself on religious justification. These theories fail to give any comprehensive picture of the origin of the State and are highly speculative.

The social contract theory and the historical–evolutionary theory marshal sociological, anthropological, economic, psychological, political and scientific factors to attribute for the origin of the State. The social contract theory puts forward the concept of contract made by people living in the state of nature as the basis for the origin of the State. As such, it attributes the origin of the State to the collective choice of the individual persons. The historical–evolutionary theory identifies multiple factors as the basis for the origin o the State and attributes it to an evolutionary process. We may classify them as liberal theories of the origin of the State.