PhD Doctor of Philosophy Political Philosophy and Social Justice 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: John Rawls' 'veil of ignorance' is a device used in his theory to ensure that principles of justice are chosen:
- Without knowledge of one's place in society (Correct answer)
- By elected representatives
- Based on utilitarian calculations
- Through divine command
Correct answer: Without knowledge of one's place in society
Behind the veil of ignorance, rational contractors do not know their class, talents, or conception of the good, motivating fair principles.
Question 2: Rawls' difference principle states that social and economic inequalities are just only if they benefit:
- The least advantaged members of society (Correct answer)
- The greatest number overall
- Those who contribute most
- Those who choose them freely
Correct answer: The least advantaged members of society
The difference principle permits inequalities only when they improve the absolute position of the least well-off group.
Question 3: Robert Nozick's entitlement theory holds that a distribution is just if it arises from:
- Just acquisition and voluntary transfer (Correct answer)
- Maximizing overall welfare
- Equal shares for all
- Democratic deliberation
Correct answer: Just acquisition and voluntary transfer
Nozick argues in Anarchy, State, and Utopia that justice in holdings depends entirely on the historical process by which they were acquired.
Question 4: The social contract tradition, represented by Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, grounds political authority in:
- Actual or hypothetical consent of the governed (Correct answer)
- Natural hierarchy
- Divine right
- Historical tradition
Correct answer: Actual or hypothetical consent of the governed
Social contract theories hold that legitimate political authority derives from an agreement — real or hypothetical — among free and equal persons.
Question 5: Communitarianism, associated with Michael Sandel and Alasdair MacIntyre, criticizes liberal individualism for failing to account for the role of:
- Community and tradition in shaping identity (Correct answer)
- Individual rights
- Market mechanisms
- Universal reason
Correct answer: Community and tradition in shaping identity
Communitarians argue that persons are constituted by their communal attachments and traditions, not pre-social atoms as liberals assume.
Question 6: Hannah Arendt's concept of the 'banality of evil,' developed from her reporting on Eichmann's trial, refers to:
- Evil arising from thoughtless compliance rather than malice (Correct answer)
- The inevitable spread of totalitarianism
- State-sanctioned genocide
- Revolutionary violence
Correct answer: Evil arising from thoughtless compliance rather than malice
Arendt argued that Eichmann exemplified how ordinary people commit great evils through bureaucratic thoughtlessness and failure of independent judgment.
PhD Doctor of Philosophy Political Philosophy and Social Justice 1
John Rawls' 'veil of ignorance' is a device used in his theory to ensure that principles of justice are chosen: