Mid Semester: Key Theorists

Question 1

Who created the theory of social contract where life is ‘nasty, brutish and short? // requires a single sovereign

Answer 1

thomas hobbes

Question 2

Explain Thomas Hobbes Social Contract theory

Answer 2

• Social Contract Theory: Natural State of ‘nasty, brutish and short’
  o // to control state= give up all power to single sovereign

Question 3

Who created the social contract theory where the natural state is an abundance of resources and human reasonableness

Answer 3

John Locke

Question 4

Explain Lockes Social contract theory

Answer 4

• Social Contract Theory: Natural State of abundant resources and human reasonableness
  o Money= accumulation // need government to protect
  o Government should be commonwealth not democratic

Question 5

what is john lockes famous mantra (involving freedom)

Answer 5

life, liberty, property

Question 6

Who, in terms of voluntarism, said submission can be tacit

Answer 6

locke

Question 7

Explain the different between original social contract, and John Rawls

Answer 7

• Revived idea of social contract through thought experiment not presumed state of nature

Question 8

Explain John Rawls theory for social contract, and what his two conclusions were

Answer 8

o Imagines social contract as product of discussion about rights conducted behind a veil of ignorance
o Two conclusions:
1. Lexical priorty
2. Maximin principal

Question 9

What was John Rawls mantra

Answer 9

Justice is fairness

Question 10

Who gave thought to the idea of positive and negative freedom

Answer 10

Isiah Berlin

Question 11

Who created the Harm Theory

Answer 11

JS Mills

Question 12

What did Colomer theorise

Answer 12

• Two types of constitutional rules
  1. Rules regulating ‘the allocation of functions, powers and duties’ (separation of powers)
  2. Rules ‘to define the relationship between [the state] and the public’ (democratic accountability)

Question 13

What did Steven Lukes theorise

Answer 13

3 faces of power

Question 14

Explain Robert Dahls research into the first face of power

Answer 14

o Study found that power distributed across networks of individuals, no one person but rather dense networks
o but is there a connection between these people in the networks

Question 15

What did Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz emphasis in addition to Dahls theory of freedom

Answer 15

• Second Face of Power: agreed with Dahl but emphasised shift from individual and their power, to situation and context
  o Emphasis on context and processes to which decisions are made not decisions themselves

Question 16

What did Antonio Gramsci contribute to power discussions

Answer 16

-	Ideas on hegemony 
o	3rd face of power built on this: idea that any ruling class in systems is try to inculcate ideas and beliefs which support them against the interests against the people who should be arguing against it

Question 17

Why did Abercrombie and Scott disagree with the third face of power

Answer 17

o Amuses people have fixed and identifiable interests

Question 18

what was Humes debate with voluntarism

Answer 18

• Debated that submission cannot be tacit

o What if knocked out woke up on army ship

Question 19

Explain Rawls natural duty

Answer 19

If a state is basically being decent and just, then we have a natural duty to submit

Question 20

explain the relationship between hobbesian logic and rawls natural duty

Answer 20

• Underlying Hobbesian logic- even if we don’t like particular policies or actions, we are overall better off within a ‘civil society’ than in a ‘state of nature’
• But (as opposed to Hobbes) there are limits on reasonable state behaviour and failure to comply with these limits render a state illegitimate

Question 21

Explain Kants plan for perpetual peace

Answer 21

o General argument built on tacit consent, democratic possibility for change, and free movement (moving to different state location if don’t like current)

Question 22

who created the plan for perpetual peace

Answer 22

kant

Question 23

What did David Boonin argue

Answer 23

• Argues that laws explicitly prohibiting speech acts that incite racial hatred are unnecessary
  o the acts they prohibit are sufficiently covered by more general legislation against threatening behavior, whether applied to groups or individuals