Deck 9: Justice and the Good Society

Question 1

Equality of opportunity is relatively easy to achieve because inequality in advantages does not usually imply inequality in opportunity.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

As best we know,human beings at one time lived exclusively as solitary individuals.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A country ruled by a handful of powerful men would be called an oligarchy.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Kurt Vonnegut story,where everyone is made equal by handicapping the advantaged,suggests that some inequalities reflect real differences in accomplishment and make our whole society richer.

Question 5

John Locke's theory of the social contract anticipates Karl Marx in its sensitivity to the need for distributive justice.

Question 6

Lao-Tzu,the author of the Tao Te Ching,would probably have agreed with Thomas Jefferson when he said "That government is best which governs least."

Question 7

In most societies,legitimate power is equated with rule by tyranny.

Question 8

John Rawls' two Principles of Justice are more consistent with a communitarian than libertarian social ideology.

Question 9

If you believe in the idea of a social contract,then you probably accept that the people who are governed are the ultimate source of the legitimacy and authority of the government.

Question 10

A society governed by the Marxist view of distributive justice might have a difficult time ensuring that its members are motivated to work and innovate.

Question 11

Punishing someone too harshly would be a failure of distributive justice.

Question 12

According to Karl Marx,workers in capitalist societies become increasingly alienated from themselves and their labor.

Question 13

In the American Declaration of Independence the phrase "all men are created equal" implies that everyone has the same talents and abilities at birth.

Question 14

For most people,the good life carries no presupposition about the kind of society in which one should live.

Question 15

Adam Smith believed that simple people (like peasants),unlike princes,did not depend on the assistance and cooperation of many thousands of people in making their lives possible.

Question 16

When a politician is accused of endorsing a "Hobbesian view of the world," this means that politician believes that a strong central authority is needed to ensure security and peace.

Question 17

According to John Rawls' first "principle of justice",all persons have an equal right to the most extensive liberty compatible with a like liberty for all.

Question 18

The Ancient Greeks believed that one had to live in a good society in order to live a good life.

Question 19

Free markets are the best way to efficiently decrease inequality,without the assistance of government.

Question 20

Few philosophers who theorize about the nature of society are able to get completely past the presuppositions which their own societies impose on them.

Question 21

Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King,Jr.were convinced that the interests of blacks throughout the world could be advanced best by peaceful means.

Question 22

While virtually everyone agrees that there is a human right not to be tortured,there is less agreement about,for example,whether people have a human right to free health care.

Question 23

To imagine a utopia is to imagine

A) a communist state.
B) an ideal or perfect society.
C) a form of solipsism.
D) a world without justice.

Question 24

Rousseau agreed with Hobbes and Locke in seeing the formation of society and laws as a positive development for human beings.

Question 25

A society that imposed no order but allowed people to do whatever they want would be an

A) anarchy.
B) democracy.
C) aristocracy.
D) oligarchy.

Question 26

The emphasis on power and control in Western science can be seen as a distinctly masculine preoccupation.

Question 27

Feminist philosophers agree with Descartes and Plato in granting privilege to reason over the body.

Question 28

To say that you have a right to something implies that someone else (either a person,organization or government)has a duty or obligation to provide you with that thing.

Question 29

In social philosophy people are conceived as either unequal,where some are "better" than others by virtue of their birth,abilities or accomplishments,or as

A) equal,due equal respect and consideration.
B) individuals,and not merely social functions.
C) having rights.
D) having certain obligations to society.

Question 30

In his Republic,Plato may have embraced a viewpoint sympathetic to feminism when he argued that any two people who do the same job,whatever their sex,ought to be educated,brought up,and treated in the same way.

Question 31

A system of government in which the ruler is a religious figure or is backed by a religion is a

A) tyranny
B) oligarchy
C) aristocracy
D) theocracy

Question 32

Simone de Beauvoir argued that the dependency of women on men is the result of historical events that simply happened,naturally.

Question 33

Because aggressive measures to reform things often end up making things worse,the Tao Te Ching recommends that rulers

A) should resign their leadership positions.
B) should just be a "shadowy presence" to the people.
C) should rule with absolute knowledge.
D) should rule with their hearts,not their minds.

Question 34

If our society was ruled by people who had proven their competence and ability to govern,it would be a

A) democracy.
B) meritocracy.
C) plutocracy.
D) aristocracy.

Question 35

The right to drive is an example of a human or natural right.

Question 36

Because of their strong commitment to "negative rights," libertarians are likely to think of individuals primarily as negatively free.

Question 37

Feminist philosophers argue that the distinction between nature and culture has often been used as a means by which women are deprived of power.

Question 38

When philosophers think about society,they

A) are usually too afraid to think imaginatively.
B) are,surprisingly,able to detach themselves entirely from the society they actually live in.
C) are,not surprisingly,influenced by the society they actually live in.
D) tend to think,almost exclusively,communistically.

Question 39

If feminists are correct,then Beauvoir's statement "One is not born a woman" is true.

Question 40

Societies ruled by the wealthy are

A) aristocracies.
B) oligarchies.
C) plutocracies
D) monarchies.

Question 41

Rousseau describes life in the state of nature (but not life in society)as a

A) place of nearly constant war.
B) place of plenty and natural goodness.
C) place where one's property was in danger of being plundered.
D) godless place.

Question 42

According to the idea of a social contract,governments get their legitimacy and authority through

A) the original pact between God and man on Mount Sinai.
B) an actual moment in time when our ancestors consented to be governed.
C) our actual consent to be governed.
D) our actual or tacit consent to be governed.

Question 43

Questions about whether everyone should have health insurance are questions of

A) distributive justice.
B) retributive justice.
C) reparative justice.
D) alienated labor.

Question 44

In courts of law,the blindfolded figure of justice signifies that

A) justice is imperfect.
B) justice "sees" with the mind,not the eyes.
C) justice is blind to irrelevant differences,such as rank and privilege.
D) justice is blind to all differences.

Question 45

"From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs" was the principle of justice developed by

A) Rousseau.
B) Marx.
C) Locke.
D) Hobbes.

Question 46

In arguing that "degrading distinctions" ought to be accepted only when necessary,Harriet Taylor implied that

A) all present inequalities were acceptable.
B) no inequalities are ever acceptable.
C) A reason must be given why anything should be permitted to one person and not to another.
D) women and men should be separate,but equal.

Question 47

According to the Marxist conception of justice,it is most important

A) to serve people's needs.
B) to make sure people get only what they deserve.
C) to let the free market decide who gets what.
D) to give everyone the same amount of goods.

Question 48

Martin Luther King's commitment to civil disobedience was especially influenced by

A) Dewey.
B) Locke.
C) Gandhi.
D) Marx.

Question 49

Communitarians tend to be critical of the concept of a social contract because

A) they are doubtful that individual selves,prior to the origins of society,really existed.
B) they believed that society was formed on a religious and not contractual basis.
C) they don't believe in human rights.
D) they don't believe in contractual rights.

Question 50

Libertarians differ from liberals in favoring

A) "positive rights" to the benefits of society over "negative rights" to be left alone.
B) "negative rights" to be left alone over "positive rights" to the benefits of society.
C) having duties and obligations to the community over having rights.
D) having duties and obligations to speak responsibly over having rights to speak freely.

Question 51

The concept of the free market is of a set of economic arrangements

A) that are necessarily democratic.
B) where the few rule the many.
C) where the government imposes a rational order on the people through laws.
D) with no,or only a minimal,role for the government.

Question 52

The concept of the "invisible hand" was first expressed by

A) Karl Marx.
B) Lao-Tzu.
C) Adam Smith.
D) Thomas Jefferson.

Question 53

Since it owes a lot to John Locke,one would expect that the United States' Constitution would

A) not address concerns about equality.
B) allow the executive,virtually unchecked,powers.
C) favor property rights.
D) favor the General Will.

Question 54

According to feminist philosophers,the category of "gender," unlike the category of "sex,"

A) is natural.
B) is created and defined by culture.
C) is an illusion.
D) is morally obligatory.

Question 55

From Karl Marx's point of view,a situation in which workers work merely for someone else,and not themselves exemplifies

A) anarchy.
B) free will.
C) alienated labor.
D) the invisible hand.

Question 56

The concept of equality of respect is the presumption that

A) all people should have the same opportunities.
B) all animals deserve equal respect.
C) everyone deserves the same treatment.
D) everyone we meet is a human being,with feelings and thoughts,and so worthy of respect.

Question 57

If Tim has a right to a job,then

A) society has an obligation to provide Tim with opportunities for work.
B) society can,but need not,provide Tim with opportunities for work.
C) "from each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs."
D) Tim has a duty to work.

Question 58

The right not to be tortured is an example of a

A) legal right,and so only valid for anybody in countries that have laws that bar torture.
B) contractual right that depends on the free consent of parties to the contract.
C) human right that applies to everybody,no matter what the society or the circumstances.
D) civil right,determined by a constitution.

Question 59

The notion that humans formed societies and laws to protect themselves from being harmed by one another was argued for by

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
B) Thomas Hobbes.
C) John Rawls.
D) John Locke.

Question 60

One challenge any society would face in providing for equality of opportunity is that

A) people don't appreciate the opportunities that are already there.
B) people are from birth unequal in abilities
And advantages.
C) people are often lazy.
D) justice is blind.

Question 61

What is Rawls' second "principle of justice"?

Question 62

What is the "invisible hand"?

Question 63

What makes for a good society?
Your essay should address the following questions: What sorts of government (or rulership)are possible?
Of these,which are preferable,and why?
In light of the fact that all societies have individuals who have different talents and abilities,and will eventually develop disparities in social position,wealth,etc,how should a good society justly manage inequality?
More broadly,what sorts of rights should the good society promote and protect?

Question 64

Distinguish distributive from retributive justice.

Question 65

What is the state of nature?

Question 66

Contrast the differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X's visions of the means to achieving racial justice.

Question 67

What are the four concerns of justice?

Question 68

What does it mean to call a point of view "gendered"?

Question 69

Contrast the conception of a person as a social function and the conception of a person as an individual,free to define him or herself.

Question 70

Why can't a democracy be an oligarchy?

Question 71

Assuming you live in a country with taxes,how would a social contract theorist understand your obligation to pay your fair share of taxes?

Question 72

Why isn't legitimate political power accurately expressed in the formula "might makes right"?

Question 73

Contrast the meanings of the categories of "sex" and "gender."Give examples.

Question 74

Suppose that you are a liberal architect of social reform.You and a number of fellow reform architects have basically agreed that a new social contract is needed.
It has two baseline principles of justice,which happen to be identical with John Rawls' two "principles of justice" in Chapter Nine.
Now you must decide how to reform existing social and political institutions in light of these two principles.
Create a fictional dialogue between you and one other reform architect in which you argue about particular reforms,based on these principles.
Reforms can deal with the way wealth is distributed through taxation (and other means),the provision of health care and medical insurance,welfare and other forms of governmental assistance,as well as affirmative action (you may have other reforms you want to add-but don't add too many!).
Try to keep it real (that is,reforms should be possible to implement).And remember,you're looking at distributive justice,so issues of equality are of paramount importance.

Question 75

Aristotle argues that in sexual reproduction

A) women are active and men are passive.
B) men are active and women are passive.
C) men and women are both equally active and passive.
D) women and not men provide the ingredients that actually make the child.

Question 76

Thinking of your own country and constitution,write an essay focusing on the following question: As a social contract theorist,under what conditions could citizens justifiably break the social contract?
That is,when would your government no longer be legitimate,and acts of political rebellion (such as civil disobedience)and even revolution be permissible?
Your essay should discuss the social contract theories of Hobbes,Locke and Rousseau.
It can focus on issues of justice,equality and individual rights.

Question 77

Libertarians often defend the notion that an unfettered free market is the best way to satisfy individual needs while also attaining the general good.
Critics of libertarianism have argued,however,that free markets alone aren't sufficient to satisfy everyone's needs,and don't produce the general good.
Write an essay in which you argue for or against the idea of unfettered free markets,from the perspective of a libertarian,liberal,communitarian,or some other political ideology
Issues you should address include distributive justice,inequality and the rights of individuals.

Question 78

The feminist philosopher who first argued against the notion that the natural condition of female existence required excessive concern for romantic love and desirability was

A) Mary Wollstonecraft.
B) Harriet Taylor.
C) Simone de Beauvoir.
D) Susan Bordo.

Question 79

How do human rights differ from legal rights? Give an example of each.

Question 80

What is patriarchy?