MH Political Thought and Society 3

Question 1

Karl Marx's concept of 'alienation' in his early manuscripts refers primarily to the worker's estrangement from:

Accepted Answer

The products of their labor, the act of production, fellow workers, and human potential

Answer

Marx identified four dimensions of alienation under capitalism: from the product, the productive activity, other workers, and the species-being (human creative potential).

Question 2

Which political theorist argued in 'The Human Condition' (1958) that political action is distinct from labor and work because it involves:

Accepted Answer

Appearing in public and acting with others to create shared meanings

Answer

Arendt distinguished action — plural, public, and unpredictable — from labor (biological necessity) and work (fabricating durable objects) as the highest human activity.

Question 3

The 'democratic peace theory' in international relations claims that:

Accepted Answer

Liberal democracies rarely go to war with one another

Answer

Democratic peace theory, drawing on Kant's 'Perpetual Peace,' observes that liberal democracies almost never wage war against each other, though they do fight non-democracies.

Question 4

Which concept in social theory describes informal, unwritten rules and norms that govern behavior in social institutions?

Accepted Answer

Social norms

Answer

Social norms are shared expectations about appropriate behavior that operate through social approval and sanctions rather than formal legal enforcement.

Question 5

Edward Said's 'Orientalism' (1978) argues that Western scholarship on the 'Orient' primarily functions to:

Accepted Answer

Construct and justify Western power over non-Western peoples

Answer

Said argued that Orientalism is a discourse that produces the 'Orient' as inferior, exotic, and in need of Western management, thereby legitimizing colonialism.

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH Political Thought and Society 3