PS120 Part 1
Ball,pgs. 26-33,
Tannenbaum, pgs. 23-30, PT4-S18
DEMOCRACY AND REPUBLIC
True or False Questions
1. According to Polybias, democracy promoted vice while a republic promoted virtue. True or False
2. In some respects Christianity seems a natural ally of democracy for it proclaims that every person, regardless of gender, nationality, or status, is equal before God.True or False
3. Reflecting its healthy respect for scholarship and tolerance, the Catholic Church translated the works of Greek philosophersin spite of the fact that some of their ideas conflicted with church doctrine. True or False
4. Machiavelli instructs princes and petty tyrants to put conscience aside and do whatever it takes, such as lie, steal, even murder, to stay in power.True or False
5. When it came to the role of women, Machiavelli argued for gender equality, insisting that females be allowedinto militias to help protect the city-state. True or False
6. Like Aristotle, Machiavelli regarded a mixed constitutional republic the best formof government whereby laws would take primacy over men. True
7. During the Civil War of the 1640s in England, the Levellers claimed that political authority would be based on consent of the people and that almost every adult male be given the right to vote. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. To place the good of the whole community above one’s own personal or class interest,according to Polybias: a) conscience, b) virtue, c) forms, d) universal.
2. According to St. Paul and the dominant Christian message, governing authorities must be obeyed because: a) they received their power from their natural abilities, b) not doing so would result in horrible consequences, c) the priority must be self-preservation, d) their legitimacy stems from God,
3. With the disintegration of the Roman Empire around CE 500, which institution became the most powerful in Europe? a) the Christian Church, b) Islam, c) warlords, d) city-states.
4. In the medieval ideal every person occupied a rank or station in an agrarian society where the lord of the manor directed the serfs that were under his protection. a) hierarchy, b) mixed society, c) feudalism, d) confederation.
5. The attempt to recapture the Christian holy land of the Middle East from the “infidel” Muslims: a) the Rebirth, b) the Dark Ages, c) the Reformation, d) the Crusades.
6. For Machiavelli, the greatest enemies of free government are: a) complacent and self-interested citizens, b) members of the aristocracy who are by nature greedy and always ready to seize power, c) feudalistic lords with grandiose dreams about ruling the realm, d) the Catholic Church with its corrupt bureaucracy.
7. The love of wealth, luxury, and ease, together with a corresponding indifference to public affairs, is what Machiavelli calls: a) slothful, b) corruption, c) apathy, d) degenerate.
8. Reflecting the rise of the English Parliament at the expense of the king, the following monarch was beheaded in 1649: a) Charles I, b) James II, c) Ivan III, d) Louis XVI.
9. A movement started by Martin Luther in 1517 who argued that salvation did not come through priests, bishops, popes, and an elaborate church organization but with each individual establishing a relationship directly with God: a) the Restoration, b) the Reformation, c) the Inquisition, d) the Conformation.
10. Why did Roger Williams run afoul with Massachusetts governing officials in 1636? a) he rejected a separation of church and state, b) he insisted that Indians not be paid for land that was taken from them, c) he rejected the notion that government and religion were nearly one, d) he condemned the ideas of individual conscience and democracy.
Fill-in Questions
1. Drawing on the writings of Aristotle and Polybius and the examples of the ancient republics of Rome and Sparta, the Renaissance republicans argued for
a) a revival of civic life in which public-spirited ______
b) who could take an active part in the ______of their independent city or country,
c) key concepts in this republican discourse where ______, virtue, and corruption were paramount.
2. What did James Harrington advocate his Oceana (1656)?
a) create a ______with a mixed or “balanced” system of government,
b) distribute _____ in a more ______fashion so that no citizen would be dependent on another for his livelihood.
c) have a ______of laws, not men, to strengthen liberty.
d) regular and frequent ______and a system of representation in which representatives would be ______in and out of office.
The Ideal State
Tannenbaum, pgs. 24-31
True or False Questions
1. Plato says that to treat humans justly all must regard others as citizens first, and that the just state must be organized on that basis. True or False
2. To resolve the problems of the unjust state, Plato recommends that a philosopher lead a revolution against the ruling king. True or False
3. The true nature of people is evil according to Plato; therefore, control of them by an effective ruler is the goal of a state. True or False
4. A state becomes just when philosophers are given the authority to rule, argued Plato. True or False
5. The right of rulers to political power is absolute in Plato’s Republic. True or False
6. The guardians of Plato’s Republic are not allowed to marry or own property. True or False
7. Punishment and retribution are the hallmarks of Plato’s Republic to keep the citizens of the polis in check and assure the stability of the state. True or False
8. Only men can be guardians in Plato’s Republic; women are too inferior and emotional, argued Plato. True or False
9. Plato’s vision for the future of the Republic is transitional whereby a cycle of creation, decay, and dissolution results. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does the state originate, according to Tannenbaum? a) because individuals are self-absorbed, b) because individuals are not self-sufficient, c) because individuals are terminal, d) because individuals are logical.
2. According to Plato, justice requires that: a) one does what it is in their nature best best suited to do, b) no one should ever subordinate himself to the ruler since it violates the public good, c) citizens should assume a multiplicity of tasks to assure the state develops efficiently, d) one’s social and psychological well-being is achieved through individual activity and not social interaction.
3. The never-ending desire for more control and luxuries in Plato’s unjust state leads to: a) peace and tranquility, b) social stratification, c) economic growth and development, d) war and internal instability.
4. How can a chaotic, unjust society be changed into a just one, according to Plato? a) by introducing spiritual values to the polis, b) by providing the ruler with adequate power to control the appetites of the citizens, c) by uniting the separate activities of philosopher and legitimate ruler into the role of philosopher-king, d) by curbing the activities of a king to allow time for contemplation and introspection.
5. Why did Plato detest democracy? a) it encourages the excesses and injustices of appetite and public opinion, b) the overwhelming majority of people are ignorant and prone to violence, c) it creates false expectations that could never be realized, d) no society could feed, clothe, and shelter the majority of its citizens; therefore, only an authoritarian state is the ideal.
6. What is the alternative to laws in Plato’s Republic, a) everything will be based on status and wealth, b) the gods will determine what is acceptable and what is not, c) civic virtue and good citizenship that is taught, d) a system of slavery and control.
7. In the “Allegory of the Metals,” rulers were partially filled with: a) brass, b) gold, c) silver, d) iron.
8. A form of government where the auxiliaries take over rule from the philosopher-kings in Plato’s Republic: a) timocracy, b) oligarchy, c) theocracy, d) democracy.
9. A form of government ruled by the wealthy in Plato’s Republic: a) communism, b) fascism, c) nationalism, d) oligarchy.
Fill-in Questions
1. For Plato (defined by Tannenbaum), the unjust state is:
a) in utter ______,
b) where people’s ______and social needs ______with each other
c) due to the rule of appetite over reason.
2. What does the never-ending desire for more control and luxuries in the unjust state lead to?”
a) to internal ______,
b) ____,
c) and continual social ______.
3. Plato’s just state in the Republic is comprised of the following:
a) the rulers, the philosopher-kings and philosopher-queens are the source of all ____ and directives, which are grounded in their sense of equity or fairness and based on a ______only they possess.
b) the auxiliaries, are the ______whose function is to execute the rulers’ decisions.
c) and the workers who are permitted to own ______, ______, and live in nuclear family units.
Answers
True or False Questions, Ball, pgs. 26-33
1. True
3. False
5. False
7. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. b
3. a
5. d
7. b
9. b
Fill-in Questions
1. a) citizens, b) governance, c) liberty
True or False Questions, Tannenbaum, pgs. 24-31
1. True
3. False
5. True
7. False
9. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. b
3. d
5. a
7. b
9. d
Fill-in Questions
1. a) chaos, b) economic, compete, c) appetite
3. a) law, reason, b) bureaucracy, c) private property, marry
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