PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Political Philosophy and Justice 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: John Rawls's theory of justice as fairness yields two principles of justice, the first of which guarantees:
- Equal distribution of all primary goods
- Equal basic liberties for all citizens (Correct answer)
- Maximization of aggregate welfare
- Priority of economic efficiency over equality
Correct answer: Equal basic liberties for all citizens
Rawls's first principle requires that each person have a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with the same scheme for all.
Question 2: Robert Nozick's libertarian theory in Anarchy, State, and Utopia argues that a just state is limited to:
- Redistributing wealth to correct historical injustices
- Maximizing overall welfare through economic planning
- Protecting individual rights against force and fraud (a minimal state) (Correct answer)
- Guaranteeing equal opportunity for all citizens
Correct answer: Protecting individual rights against force and fraud (a minimal state)
Nozick holds that only a minimal 'nightwatchman' state—protecting rights to security and contract—is justified; any more extensive state violates individual rights.
Question 3: The social contract tradition in political philosophy attempts to justify political authority through:
- Divine right of rulers
- Traditional customs and inherited obligations
- A hypothetical or actual agreement among individuals (Correct answer)
- The natural superiority of rulers
Correct answer: A hypothetical or actual agreement among individuals
Social contract theorists (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls) ground legitimate political authority in consent or hypothetical rational agreement.
Question 4: Thomas Hobbes described life in the state of nature—without government—as:
- Peaceful and cooperative
- 'Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short' (Correct answer)
- Governed by natural law and reason
- Organized around property rights
Correct answer: 'Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'
Hobbes argued that without a sovereign power, rational self-interest leads to a war of all against all, making life miserable.
Question 5: John Locke's political philosophy holds that individuals possess natural rights to:
- Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- Life, liberty, and property (Correct answer)
- Equality, fraternity, and liberty
- Security, welfare, and education
Correct answer: Life, liberty, and property
Locke argued in the Second Treatise that life, liberty, and property are pre-political natural rights that governments must protect and cannot legitimately violate.
Question 6: Communitarianism, associated with Michael Sandel and Charles Taylor, criticizes liberalism for:
- Granting too few rights to individuals
- Neglecting the role of community and shared values in forming identity and justice (Correct answer)
- Ignoring economic inequality
- Overemphasizing collective rights at the expense of liberty
Correct answer: Neglecting the role of community and shared values in forming identity and justice
Communitarians argue that the liberal 'unencumbered self' is a fiction—our identities and moral commitments are constituted by community membership.
PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Political Philosophy and Justice 1
John Rawls's theory of justice as fairness yields two principles of justice, the first of which guarantees: