Saba Fatima is worried about government-instituted thought policing. In her section on that topic, she claims:
government-backed inquiry into ideological beliefs is a dangerous precedent to follow, especially when it comes to communities that are already stigmatized and vulnerable … Once a tool for surveilling people's ideologies is put in place, its parameters can evolve to suit the needs of the state and what it deems as threatening. The primary purpose of a state apparatus then becomes to preserve itself rather than to serve the people.
Do you think that it's a problem for the primary purpose of some state apparatus to be state self-preservation rather than service of state citizens? Or, do you think that there are cases where it's justified for a tool's purpose to be state self-preservation? Defend your answer, linking it to the wider question of instituting religious tests.

Question

Saba Fatima is worried about government-instituted thought policing. In her section on that topic, she claims:
 government-backed inquiry into ideological beliefs is a dangerous precedent to follow, especially when it comes to communities that are already stigmatized and vulnerable … Once a tool for surveilling people's ideologies is put in place, its parameters can evolve to suit the needs of the state and what it deems as threatening. The primary purpose of a state apparatus then becomes to preserve itself rather than to serve the people.
Do you think that it's a problem for the primary purpose of some state apparatus to be state self-preservation rather than service of state citizens? Or, do you think that there are cases where it's justified for a tool's purpose to be state self-preservation? Defend your answer, linking it to the wider question of instituting religious tests.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Explain the choice between state self-preservation and citizen protection, as it pertains to implementing new apparatuses
Argue that it is justified for a tool's purpose to be state self-preservation. Or,
Argue that it is not justified for a tool's purpose to be state self-preservation
Defend the answer to this justification question, exploring its relevance to the religious test question

Saba Fatima Is Worried About Government-Instituted Thought Policing