| Name of theory | The main authors | The gist of the theory |
| Patriarchal | ConfuciusAristotleJ. Bodin | The state is like a family, so the authority of the sovereign over his subjects is as unconditional as the authority of the father over his children. |
| Theocratic (theological) | AureliusAugustineF. Aquinas | Every authority and every state is of divine origin and must conform to Christian norms. |
| Social contract theory (natural law theory) | G. GrotiusB. SpinozaТ. HobbesD. LockeVoltaireJ.-J. Rousseau | The state arises as a product of social inequality and a mechanism for securing the political domination of one class, which possesses property and power, over other classes that are deprived of them. |
| Materialistic (class) | К. MarxF. EngelsG. PlekhanovV. Lenin | The state always emerges by violent means and is invariably built on coercion: first by the majority over the minority, and then vice versa. |
| Violence theory | К. KautskyG. Gumplowicz | Государство всегда возникает насильственным способом и неизменно построено на принуждении: сначала большинства меньшинством, а затем — наоборот. |
| Psychological | E. FrommL. Petrazhitsky | The state arises from the difference in psychological personality types of rulers-leaders and subjects-subjects encouraged and constrained by power. |
| Organic | G. SpencerМ. WeberP. Sorokin | The state emerges as a natural mechanism for ensuring the life of society like a human organism, in which each part provides vital functions. |
