Political Science Answers

Which of the following statements reflecting the differences and similarities of Rawls and 

Nozick’s conception of justice is correct? Indicate the correct option. 

1. Rawls and Nozick both disagree on fundamental questions pertaining to the extent of state 

intervention in the private sphere and the principles governing distribution of goods, however, 

there is consensus that the protection of individual interests is most important. 

2. Nozick shares Rawls‟ view that the purpose of the state is to achieve a just distribution for its 

citizens. 

3. Rawls and Nozick ascribe to a principle of justice that advocates for the equal distribution of 

goods. 

4. Both Rawls and Nozick adopt an ahistorical approach to establishing principles of justice 

which downplays the significance of historical circumstances that are morally relevant when 

addressing contemporary questions on justice.

Indicate whether the following statement is True or False. 

Rawls‟ theory of justice as fairness assumes a liberal stance which permits inequality enabling an 

individual to accumulate unlimited wealth provided that it leaves a person who was worse off in a 

better position. 

1. True 

2. False 

Which of the following assumptions about anarchism is incorrect? Indicate the incorrect 

option. 

1. Anarchists reject the notion that governments are legitimate and that we have a moral 

obligation to obey laws and argue that society has a moral duty to oppose the state. 

2. Anarchists share the view that governments must be abolished and are opposed to all forms 

of authority, especially those that claim the right to coerce. 

3. Proudhon‟s version of anarchism reconciles property and communism in terms of their 

economic ideas, which is referred to as mutualism. 

4. Contrary to those who believe in the social contract, anarchists’ question and challenge the 

idea that voting constitutes an act of giving consent. 

Which of the following statements pertaining to the source of authority is incorrect? 

Indicate the incorrect option. 

1. According to Plato, philosophers should be the rulers of society since they were the only 

persons who possessed a totality of knowledge and wisdom about the world. 

2. Although deriving authority from reason is different from deriving authority from God, attempts 

were made by medieval philosophers to reconcile reason and authority. 

3. Hobbes‟ assumption that the modern state with unlimited powers was the product of a social 

contract to rise above a pre-political anarchic state of nature is an example of consent as the 

source of authority. 

4. Authority can be derived from the illegitimate exercise of force and constitutes a viable and 

acceptable source of authority in the modern state. 

Which of the following philosophers does St Tomas Aquinas share the following view with? 

Indicate the correct option. 

“Monarchies assume authority sanctioned by an ultimately supreme divine power, which 

legitimises the authority of the secular state over which they rule, compelling civil society to show 

obedience to the state”. 

1. Thomas Hobbes 

2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

3. St Augustine 

4. John Locke 

To which philosopher is the following statement attributed? Indicate the correct option. 

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” 

1. Aristotle 

2. St Augustine 

3. Marx 

4. Locke 

5. Plato

Indicate whether the following statement is true or false. 

"Locke held that the state originated in a social contract." 

1. True 

2. False 

Which philosopher made the following statement? Indicate the correct option. 

“A monarchy is the best form of government for a people, provided it does not become corrupt.” 

1. Marx 

2. St Aquinas 

3. Locke 

4. Aristotle 

5. St Augustine 

Which philosopher believed that the wise and knowledgeable, the philosopher kings, 

should rule? Indicate the correct option. 

1. St Augustine 

2. Locke 

3. Plato 

4. Aristotle 

5. St Aquinas 

Indicate whether the following statement is true or false. 

"Historically ideas of absolute sovereignty have been the concern of philosophers from ancient 

Greek times to the present." 

1. True 

2. False