Abstract

This article examines Francisco Suárez’s views on consent and the social contract, challenging the interpretation that portrays him as a precursor to modern theorists like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. While Suárez’s political thought incorporates elements that may seem similar to contractarian principles, it fundamentally diverges from the modern social contract tradition. Rather than basing political legitimacy on individual consent, Suárez grounds it in the divine origin of power. He sees the community’s consent, expressed through a “virtual pact,” as a necessary condition for transferring power to a sovereign, but not as the foundation of political obligation or authority. For him, the duty to obey laws rests on humanity’s nature and God’s will. The article argues that Suárez rejects key premises of modern social contract theory, notably the ideas that political communities are artificial constructs and that political obligation stems from a contract.