Political Philosophy Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Political Philosophy explores the fundamental questions about the nature, justification, and organization of political societies. This course examines the theoretical foundations of political authority, justice, rights, liberty, and democracy through engagement with classic and contemporary philosophical texts. Students will analyze the works of influential thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Rawls, while also considering critical perspectives on issues like power, equality, and citizenship. By the end of the course, students will develop critical skills to assess political arguments and deepen their understanding of concepts central to public life and governance.
Recommended Textbook
A Novel Approach to Politics 5th Edition by Douglas
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13 Chapters
518 Verified Questions
518 Flashcards
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A. Van Belle
Chapter 1: Introducing the Ancient Debate: The Ideal Versus the Real
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) This text defines politics as ______.
A)individual or combined actions of persons,governments,and/or groups,aimed at getting what they want accomplished,when those actions have public consequences
B)the things people do when they want more
C)who gets what,when,and how
D)the authoritative allocation of values for society
Answer: A
Q2) One's personal experiences,preferences,and expectations,which shape one's views of politics and political events,are referred to as an individual's ______.
A)ideals
B)politics
C)conceptual framework
D)ergonomics
Answer: C
Q3) The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Why Government Security, Anarchy, and Some
Basic Group Dynamics
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The reserve of power an individual holds and on which he or she can call to achieve political goals is called ______.
A)political capital
B)the reserve clause
C)security power
D)allocative authority
Answer: A
Q2) There is no difference between power and authority.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Post-apocalyptic fiction,such as Mad Max,Lord of the Flies,The Postman,and Lucifer's Hammer,demonstrates ______.
A)human instinct for governance
B)Darwinism
C)chaos theory
D)patriarchy
Answer: A
Q4) Who is the "other?"
Page 4
Answer: In group dynamics,the "other" becomes the enemy,them,not us.
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Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) Governments do not encourage preference falsification.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which Libyan dictator pursued security in office by seeking legitimacy?
A)Muammar al-Qaddafi
B)Saddam Hussein
C)Golda Meir
D)Ayatollah Khomeini
Answer: A
Q3) The advent of social media (Twitter,Facebook,YouTube,etc. )has led to the limitation and at times failure of governments to ______.
A)atomize citizens
B)police citizens
C)employ citizens
D)represent citizens
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Governments Role in the Economy: The Offer
You Cant Refuse
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Federal Reserve rate is the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges on loans to the government.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A humanist is an idealist who is interested in and motivated by concern for the broader human condition and the quality of people's lives.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the driving force of capitalism?
A)capital
B)free market environment
C)competition
D)labor
Q4) Pure capitalism is also referred to as feudalism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Competition among capitalists does not affect factory prices.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Structures and Institutions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Aristotle recognized six basic types of government: polity,oligarchy,aristocracy,democracy,dictatorship,and monarchy.Briefly explain who rules in each one (one person,a few people,many people).For each type,also explain whether Aristotle believed it to be a good or bad form of government.
Q2) A dictatorship is considered a perverted form of government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to Aristotle,which of the following is a government ruled by the many that works for the benefit of the ruling class?
A)democracy
B)aristocracy
C)dictatorship
D)polity
Q4) Organizational structures through which political power is exercised are ______.
A)political institutions
B)political structures
C)political associations
D)political organizations
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Chapter 6: El Grande Loco Casa Blanca: The Executive in Bad Spanish
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Sample Questions
Q1) In politics,the head of state is in charge of all the following,EXCEPT ______.
A)symbolically representing the state
B)holding dinner parties
C)wearing the crown jewels
D)negotiating treaties
Q2) Explain the difference between the head of government and the head of state and note the important functions played by each.
Q3) The "divine right of kings" refers to ______.
A)a king's claim that God had chosen him to rule
B)The Divine Miss M's blessing of a king
C)a monarchy
D)a dictatorship
Q4) The Prime Minster of the United Kingdom,unlike the President of the United States,is directly elected.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Oligarchic forms of authoritarian rule are a thing of the past.
A)True
B)False
Page 8
Q6) Discuss the difference between a patriarchal and matriarchal hierarchy.
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Page 9
Chapter 7: The Confederacy of Dunces: The Legislative
Function Not in Bad Spanish
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39 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the primary concern of those who choose proportional representation?
A)a two-party system
B)geographic representation
C)ideological representation
D)checks and balances
Q2) That monarchs cannot create wealth even though their kingdoms depend on wealth is an example of ______.
A)a societal puzzle
B)a power struggle
C)a traditional monarchy
D)a dilemma of power
Q3) Which of the following is the name for the tactic used by Jefferson Smith in Mr.Smith Goes to Washington,which allows a senator or group of senators to talk indefinitely about a bill?
A)stranglehold
B)filibuster
C)hold
D)cloture
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Chapter 8: Brazilian Bureaucracy: Do I Even Need to Bother
With the Jokes
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Sample Questions
Q1) In an iron triangle,what do interest groups do to ensure that legislation is crafted according to their preferences?
A)legislate
B)raise funds
C)lobby
D)make policy
Q2) Today's bureaucracies regulate,license,procure,distribute,observe,preserve,encourage,police,study,and manage.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The iron triangle concept was introduced in the 1990s.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is a critical element of Max Weber's ideal bureaucracy?
A)personal attention
B)hierarchy
C)redundancy
D)flexibility
Q5) Discuss the cockroach theory of bureaucracy and the role the media plays in this theory. Page 11
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Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) The power of the courts to declare laws and government acts to be in violation of the nation's constitution or in some other way illegal under the structure of the country is the court's power of ______.
A)judicial interpretation
B)jurisprudence
C)judicial activism
D)judicial review
Q2) Identify the various types of jurisprudence that have competed for authority in the United States and briefly note their main features.
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the three main schools of jurisprudence that Harry Stumpf has identified as having competed for dominance in the United States?
A)natural law
B)civil law
C)positivist jurisprudence
D)sociological-realist jurisprudence
Q4) What makes the law political? How have recent events served to convince the public that the law is political?
Q5) Describe the many ways in which the courts monitor government.
Page 13
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Chapter 10: Not Quite Right,but Still Good: The Democratic
Ideal in Modern Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a representative democracy,you vote to select who will represent your interests rather than voting on the actual issues of the moment.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Winston Churchill once said,"Democracy is the worst form of government,except for all those other forms." Explain some of the criticisms that have been made of democracy (Plato and Aristotle had some good ones),and then explain why,in spite of these issues,democracy remains a very powerful idea and ideal.
Q3) A tyranny of the majority takes place when an unrestrained majority bands together to rule a society.
A)True B)False
Q4) Democracy quite literally means "rule by the elites."
A)True
B)False
Q5) Arrow's theorem shows us that elections cannot be the perfect means of making decisions.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Media,Politics,and Government: Talking Heads
Are Better Than None
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the concept of mediated reality and explain the impact of mediated reality on one's understanding of the political environment.
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the four primary elements that guide the selection of news stories?
A)conflict
B)complexity
C)deviation from the norm
D)sex
Q3) The unhindered press is meant to serve certain social and political functions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The mutual exploitation model concerns the relationship between which of the following two groups?
A)the news media and elites
B)the news media and protest groups
C)the news media and public interest groups
D)the news media and the attentive public
Q5) Define and explain the difference between experiential and agreement reality.
Page 15
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Chapter 12: International Politics: Apocalypse Now and Then
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most pervasive element in the relationships between countries is ______.
A)war
B)culture
C)consciousness
D)trade
Q2) Balance of power is the way in which the distribution of power across the international system influences the pattern of alliances that tend to form in an anarchic environment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The theoretical construct of idealism provides the best example of how international politics operates in an anarchic environment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) From the Marxist perspective,trade relationships create a nonanarchic structure.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain Kant's concept of democratic peace.
Q6) What is a hegemon?
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Chapter 14: Political Culture: Sex and Agriculture, Getting
Rucked Explains It All
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is offered in the Novel Approach to Politics text as an alternative to culture to explain why New Zealand's TV programming is more sexually permissive than that in the United States?
A)New Zealand was originally a French colony.
B)New Zealanders learn about sex at an earlier age.
C)Cable television has been more readily available in the United States.
D)Broadcast television in the United States is actually more permissive than it is in New ZealanD.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT an example of an agent of political socialization?
A)a political science professor
B)Barack Obama
C)a religious leader
D)yourself
Q3) Which of the following is not true about political culture?
A)Culture can affect a nation's approach to policy choices.
B)Politicians can use culture as a powerful tool to achieve political ends.
C)Culture becomes an issue as countries struggle to deal with the issue of cultural ownership.
D)Culture can explain nearly all the differences among nations.
Page 17
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