Deck 4: Political Theory

Question 1

Tecumseh

A) was a Shawnee leader who argued that individuals possess natural rights.
B) was a South American leader of Amazonian rubber-tappers.
C) was the founder of fundamentalism in the United States.
D) None of the above is true.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to Aristotle, democracy is a type of government in which

A) the rulers are self-serving.
B) the rulers promote the interest of the entire public.
C) the rulers believe in the principle of natural rights.
D) the rulers are limited in power by the existence of a bill of rights.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Nietzsche regards Christianity as an example of slave morality.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Vonnegut's story of Harrison Bergeron

A) represents an argument for fundamentalism.
B) presents images of equality that have parallels with Nietzschean assessments.
C) discusses the role of the ACLU in U.S.politics.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 5

According to Aristotle,

A) democracy was the same thing as tyranny.
B) monarchy was a proper form of government.
C) polity was an improper form of government.
D) both A and B are true.

Question 6

According to Machiavelli's writings in The Prince, it is best if governments base their rule upon __________.

A) fear
B) hatred
C) love
D) kindness

Question 7

Equality of participation was advanced by

A) the Taliban.
B) Mendes.
C) Aristotle.
D) Machiavelli.

Question 8

If one examines U.S.uses of military drones, as of Fall 2013, armed drones had killed identified terrorists but had been successful in ensuring that no drone strikes ever injured or killed civilians.

Question 9

Plato's allegory of the cave suggests

A) obedience to authorities is a political obligation that should never be broken.
B) ethical questions are unimportant when assessing political issues.
C) laws should reflect the will of the majority.
D) critical thinking may lead individuals to be at odds with the status quo.

Question 10

Nietzsche

A) favors slave morality over master morality.
B) argues that resentment is often the driving force behind demands for equality.
C) Both A and B are true.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 11

Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia are among the countries

A) using drones in cooperation with the United States in a multinational effort to win the war on terror.
B) that have been targeted for drone strikes by the United States in a means to protect the United States from terrorists.
C) Both A and B are true.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 12

Over the centuries, as philosophers have debated whether states should be organized to maximize state power or organized to restrain state power,

A) James Madison argued that states should restrain state power.
B) Machiavelli, in The Prince, created the concept of separation of powers and suggested that states should minimize state power.
C) John Stuart Mill argued that states should maximize state power in order to minimize individualism, insofar as individualism was a dangerous force that would culminate in lawlessness and immorality.
D) Aristotle argued that only oligarchies were proper governments because all other types of government possessed too much power over citizens.

Question 13

Imagine the following scenario: A racist organization wishes to express its ideas (without causing specific, actual physical violence) and tries to recruit new members.Following the teachings of John Stuart Mill, it should be allowed to do so.

Question 14

Aristotle argued that proper governments were ones in which majority rule was followed.

Question 15

Aristotle defined polity as

A) rule by the many in the interests of all.
B) rule by the many in the interests of the many.
C) rule by the few in the interests of all.
D) rule by the few in the interests of the few.

Question 16

Without a powerful state capable of deterring crime, all citizens are vulnerable to predators; therefore, human survival is promoted by the creation of a strong state capable of severely punishing any and all individuals who threaten to harm others.This describes the argument of

A) Hobbes in The Leviathan.
B) Plato in the allegory of the cave.
C) Aristotle in justifying oligarchy as a good form of government.
D) Mill in advocating the rule of princes.

Question 17

Thomas Jefferson

A) conceptualized equality as equality of natural rights.
B) defined equality as equality of interests.
C) rejected the idea that individuals possess natural rights.
D) favored monarchy as the best form of government.

Question 18

Justice consists of following nature.This idea arises in the philosophical writings of

A) Machiavelli.
B) Madison.
C) Plato.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 19

In The Federalist Papers, Madison

A) argues in favor of checks and balances but rejects the concept of separation of powers.
B) argues in favor of both checks and balances and separation of powers.
C) supports the arguments of Machiavelli's The Prince on the matter of state power.
D) Both A and C are true.

Question 20

Hobbes asserted that human nature was characterized by __________.

A) natural equality
B) natural inequality
C) slave morality
D) natural tendencies toward peaceful cooperation

Question 21

Compare and contrast the discussions of equality put forward by Aristotle, Tecumseh, and Nietzsche.

Question 22

Are drones an ethical way of addressing terrorism? Choose any of the ethical perspectives discussed in this chapter to provide a logical foundation for your answer.

Question 23

Compare and contrast Hobbesian and Millian perspectives on political life.Do you see any similarities? What do you regard as the most obvious differences in the perspectives of Hobbes and Mill?