STUDY QUESTIONS FOR MIDTERM
POLITICAL THEORY
1. Carver suggests that a basic theoretical tension, or perhaps an outright contradiction, confronts Marx's successors when they attempt to define Marxism as scientific and objective. Why is this a potential problem, given Marx's own definition of "ideology"?
2. As Carver notes, the history of the term “ideology” is deeply conflicted because the concept has had so many different definitions; nevertheless, he thinks it is a term we should not abandon, even if we can never arrive at a scientifically objective ideology. Why does Carver think it is important to understand the meaning of different political ideologies even if none of them can prove itself to be the “correct” one?
3. In an infamous aside, Pericles briefly discusses the place of women within Athenian democracy. What does he understand as women’s role within the polis?
4. In Periclesʼs view, what was so special about collective citizen participation and deliberation about the most important public matters, including war itself? Why does Pericles believe that Atheniansʼ greater willingness to engage in courageous acts on behalf of their city-state was related to their commitment to democracy?
5. How does Pericles understand the connection between democracy and empire?
6. Theseus argues that tyrants are especially brutal in punishing the youth in a political society that they come to control. What reasons does he give for this?
7. Why does Theseus put so much emphasis on the rule of law in his response to the Theban Messenger? Why is it so vitally important in a democracy?
8. In addition to the metaphor of many people becoming one, Aristotle also compares democratic deliberation and judgment to a “feast” (p.22). What does he mean by this comparison?
9. Aristotle gives a number of reasons why middle-class rule is so profoundly important. What are they?
10. On pp.22-23, Aristotle notes that some works of art are not best judged by those who create them, but by those who utilize them. How does he develop this point into a defense of democratic judgment?
11. In his conclusion, what does Machiavelli claim is the chief difference between the excesses of the people and the excesses of the prince that make rule by the former preferable to rule by the latter?
12. Some scholars have argued that the link between The Prince and The Discourses lies precisely in the role played by prince when the republic becomes corrupt and requires the renewal of ties republican origins. Is there any evidence in this extract for that argument, which stresses the important role that one human being can play in history?
13. Adams puts a great deal of emphasis throughout the piece on the importance of annual elections within republics, arguing that there is no more “infallible maxim” in all of the sciences than the claim that ‘where annual elections end, there slavery begins’ (p. 31). Why does Adams think that annual elections are so important for republican self-rule?
14. At the end of the piece, Adams maintains that three additional types of laws are very important for maintaining republican self-rule. These are: a militia law, laws which make provision for “the liberal education of youth, especially of the lower class of people,” and “sumptuary laws” (p.34). What does Adams mean by these laws, and why does he think they are so important in a republic?
15. The issue of the “right of the people to keep and bear arms” (Amendment 2) continues to be one of ongoing controversy in the United States. From a Republican perspective, why is the right to bear arms so crucial?
16. The Tenth Amendment has been regarded as one of the Anti-federalists great victories. How might we read it as helping assuage Patrick Henry's fear that the Constitution was insufficiently democratic? How might it be seen as setting the stage for the American Civil War?
17. The First Amendment declares that Congress shall make no law depriving people of freedom of speech and assembly. These freedoms were long-standing keys to republican arguments. Given what republican theorists feared, why would these two features of the First Amendment, in particular, be so important?
18. Conversely, what does Tocqueville laud about aristocracy? What does he think has been lost in the replacement of aristocracy by democracy?
19. Underlying Mill’s argument is a clear commitment to “active” over “passive” sorts of human character (p. 49). What reasons does he give for preferring the former over the latter, especially since, as he points out, most moral philosophers prefer people to be precisely the opposite of what Mill is advocating?
20. What does Mill believe will be the consequences for society of the failure to put in place means for citizens to participate in the process of democratic self-governance?
21. “On pp. 57-58, Hobbes outlines three principal reasons why he thinks conflict in the state of nature in inevitable. These are “competition”, “diffidence”, and “glory”. What does Hobbes mean by these terms, and why does he think they will inevitable culminate in “war”, as he understands that term?”
22. Hobbes has often been accused of having too negative a view of human nature in the state of nature and, consequently, of rushing too quickly to the notion that people would accept an absolute ruler so long as it provided for their safety. On p. 58, he offers what he hopes will be an empirical proof of his theory of human nature, by describing the behavior of people who actually live in political society, which he imagines to be much safer than the state of nature. What examples does he give to “prove” his theory?
23. According to Locke’s argument in the Second Treatise, why is revolution against an absolute monarch who denies the people their natural rights to life, liberty, and property not only a right, but also a moral duty?
24. In A Letter Concerning Toleration, Locke gives a number of reasons why state power should not be understood as having any say in what religion people should follow. What reasons does he give for this? Similarly, Locke adduces a number of arguments in favor of the notion that a church should best be understood as a voluntary organization. What are they? How far should they be understood as limiting any church’s power? What legitimate or justifiable powers does any church still maintain over its members, according to Locke?
25. In Common Sense, Paine contrasts “government” with “society”. What does he see as the difference between the two?
26. In "Common Sense", what does Paine argue should be the hallmarks of just political representations and institutions, respectively? How might these features of representation and political institutions be connected to his idea that the greatest thing to be feared from form government is the vices of individual politicians?
27. If you were part of a group whose members had been systematically denied the rights that Jefferson sets forth in the Declaration, how might you go about arguing for inclusion? What does the Declaration suggest is the appropriate response to government if such rights are continually violated over a long period of time?
28. Which articles of the declaration most clearly attack political absolutism? Why?
29. Which article of the Declaration most clearly attacks the notion of ascribed status and aristocratic privilege? Why?
30. Smith argues that in addition to the natural propensity to truck, barter and exchange, there is another feature of human life that separates us from animals.
31. For Smith, how does the desire to truck, barter and exchange lead to the division of labor which he argues is the engine that drives economic productivity and prosperity?
32. To what extent does Kant believe any generation can legitimately limit the willingness of future generations to dare to know? Which institution does Kant use as an example of one that might well attempt to engage in such behavior, and what does he think of it?
33. Kant distinguishes between two types of reason, “public” and “private,” and maintains that the range of freedom that is appropriate to these two spheres is very different. In which sphere does Kant think individual freedom should be at its maximal level, and why? Conversely, in which sphere does Kant believe that freedom can be legitimately circumscribed or eliminated? Do you think his explanation for this distinction is convincing? Why or why not?
34. Kant gives two broad sets of reasons why individuals have not heretofore thrown off their immaturity.
35. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Mill was far more consistent in the application of his liberal democratic principles. For example, he advocated extending the suffrage not only to the working class, but also to women, and was a committed opponent of slavery. However, it must also be noted that Mill was an employee of the British East India Company, the central tool of British imperialism on the subcontinent, and consistently maintained that neither liberty nor democracy were applicable in less “civilized” parts of the globe (like Asia). In such parts he claimed: “Despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians provided that the end be their improvement, and the means justified by actually affecting the end” (p.95). What reasons does he give for this position in the piece we read?
36. Mill famously declares that: "if all mankind minus one, where of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more just in silencing that one person, than he, if had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind" (p.97). Mill gives three basic reasons for this claim. What are they? Do you find them convincing? Why or why not?
37. The key figure in Sumner's analysis is the one he calls "the Forgotten Man." Who is this individual? How and why is he forgotten? Why does Sumner believe that the case of the Forgotten Man illustrates the problem of enabling government to do more than the persons and property of its citizens?
38. Following Sumner's logic, why would it be unwise to help people living in poverty, or suffering from addiction, even if this is not carried out by the government, and is wholly a matter of private charity?
39. At the beginning of this piece, Sumner argues that “every man and woman in society has one big duty.” What is that duty, according to Sumner, and why would it be a fundamental mistake to try to go beyond it?
40. At the conclusion of his essay, Rothbard argues that land and animals should be understood originally as unowned “resources” that can legitimately become the private property of individuals. How does this process unfold, according to Rothbard? How does it harken back to Lock’s arguments? Is his argument about what makes “resources” into private property a convincing one? Why or Why not?
41. Given Burke’s basic assumptions, why does he reject arguments based on absolute universal human rights?
42. What does Burke think are the necessary prerequisites for becoming a member of the “natural aristocracy”?
43. DeMaistre rejects the constitution of 1795, drawn up by the French Revolutionaries, as a ridiculous and absurd document. What reason(s) does he give for this?
44. Why does De Maistre think that monarchy is the ideal form of government?
45. Who does de Maistre think are the true founders of nations, and how is this related to his concepts of a constitution (rightly understood) and the “national soul”?
46. On pages 152-153, Oakeshott argues that moderation is essential to conservative politics. What does he mean by this, and why does he think that it is important?
47. Michael Oakeshott had a certain view on conservatism that has often been twisted or misunderstood. He says that conservative, is to prefer the familiar rather than the unknown which people can see as scary or risky. The characteristics of "human nature" are as follows:
48. Oakeshott contends that changes, especially "innovations", are things that "have to be suffered"(p.147). According to Oakeshott , why is the experience of change a form of suffering for conservatives?
49. Are there certain political ideologies that all traditional American conservatives would be opposed to, given the principles Kirk outlines? Why?
50. Why does Kirk believe that conservatism is not an ideology?
51. What does Bork mean when he calls “hedonism” the true danger of radical individualism? How does he think modern technology makes this danger worse?
52. At the beginning of the essay, Bork relies on the work on the works of thinkers who have developed the concepts of “defining deviancy up” and “defining deviancy down.” What do these concepts mean, and why does Burke think they are so important?
53. What example does Kristol give to illustrate "the decline of our democratic culture"?
54. Kristol presents the reader with a number of "theses" that underpin the neoconservative approach to foreign policy. What are they?
55. What reasons does Kristol give for why neoconservatives are so keen to cut taxes, and so unafraid of large budgetary deficits?
56. The relationship between the Religious Right and the Republican Party is sometimes tense and uneasy. In this essay Dobson attacks and condemns the behavior of President Bush’s first Secretary of State, Colin Powell. What did Powell do that so offended Dobson?
57. In order to drive home his point about the necessity of religious people entering the political arena, Dobson gives examples of the debates over slavery, the civil rights movement, and the holocaust in WW2. What is his point in invoking these examples?
58. “At the end of the essay, Antle notes that all hope might not be lost for “fusionism”, and that the “conservative crack-up” might be avoided. What does he think prevented an earlier crack-up?”
59. Why, according to Antle, did the libertarians become increasingly disenchanted with “fusionism”? Can Fusionism be saved?