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POLI100 > Political theory > Flashcards

Political theory Flashcards

1
Q

what are Hobbes 3 premise for state of nature?

A
  1. basic equality
  2. moderate egoism
  3. relative scarcity
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2
Q

what are John Lockes premise for state of nature?

A
  1. normative equality (we ought to be equal in rights)
  2. naturally moral
  3. relative abundance of resources
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2
Q

what are John Lockes premise for state of nature?

A
  1. normative equality (we ought to be equal in rights)
  2. naturally moral
  3. relative abundance of resources
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3
Q

how does society go from state of nature to political society?

A

in order to escape state of nature, we agree to alienate out power and create a powerful sovereign who will maintain order and we will obey

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4
Q

How does Hobbes explain the change to political society?

A

the problem in SON is you don’t know if you have been treated unjust, so law tells you what’s unjust. creation of absolute sovereign

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5
Q

how does Locke explain the change to political society?

A

we maintain personal freedom by having authority that is created by the people, can’t be oppressed by rule which has been consented to

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6
Q

How do Hobbes and Lockes views differ on state of nature?

A

for Hobbes: the SON is so bad we have to avert the war of all against all, we should create absolute sovereign
For Locke: SON is not as bad, only agree to a sovereign that would strengthen and protect natural rights

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7
Q

what is the social contact?

A

citizens agree to trade natural liberty for the benefits of political society. Hobbes argues we trade all our liberty, whilst Locke argues we trade enough to strengthen rights

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8
Q

what does John Locke say on consent?

A

we can only be obligated to act within the law if we consent to take that obligation.
others cannot bind us, only we can we also cant give ourselves up

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9
Q

what are the objections to nature of consent?

A
  1. there are obligations that aren’t taken on by consent e.g we obey our parents because they are our parents.
  2. we never actually give our consent
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10
Q

what is Tacit consent?

A

you indicate your agreement to be governed by your continued acceptance of the benefits you receive. its silent consent

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11
Q

what is hypothetical consent?

A

you would consent, if you were in the SON and acting rationally, this is what justifies the state.
Is this consent??

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12
Q

what was the leviathan Hobbes book was about?

A

named after a monster in the bible

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13
Q

what is the state of nature for Hobbes?

A

life without political authority, no state control. in this state human life is “nasty, brutish and short”.
it becomes state of war

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14
Q

in Hobbes state of war what are the three main causes of conflict?

A
  1. competition: people desire the same things people envy
  2. diffidence: mutual distrust suggest pre-emptive strike
  3. glory: not just desires fulfilled but desire to win
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15
Q

what is Hobbes social contract?

A

we give up our freedoms for protection of property, proposes absolute monarchy

16
Q

what are some criticisms of Hobbes state of nature?

A
  1. people aren’t as bad as Hobbes suggest
  2. they’d fear reprisals, if I steal someone might steal from me
  3. they’d respect people rights
  4. the faults Hobbes identifies are the product of political authority and wouldn’t exist in SON, the govt encourages competition
17
Q

what is direct democracy?

A

people directly and freely vote on a question or issue e.g referendum

18
Q

what is representative democracy?

A

the electorate elect a representative to act on their behalf to make informed decisions

19
Q

what is party democracy?

A

parties often decide the representatives that stand for election. parties may enter coalitions and so people will get a party they may not have voted for

20
Q

why is John Locke skeptical of direct democracy?

A

believed it gives too much power to the people who may not be well informed or care about voting

21
Q

what is the wisdom of the crowds?

A

politics is difficult and so is best to have all hands on deck when trying to find answers, ideas should be a collective

22
Q

what is the non-expert demos?

A

politics involves difficult issues which requires expertise, why would the common people have expertise

23
Q

what could be an example of the non-expert demos?

A

brexit referendum decision was made on slogans, false promises, lies and misinformation

24
Q

what is tyranny of the majority?

A

democracy is thought to protect the population against tyranny, but in democracy, the majority can tyrannise the minority

25
Q

what is an example of tyranny of majority?

A

5 % population of LGBT denied access to marriage, if they were voted on it would pass by the population

26
Q

what does John Stewart mill say about liberty in democracy?

A

liberty is at risk in democracies, but liberty is necessary for progress. we are constrained by democracy we need freedom to make progress

27
Q

what is the harm Principle in relation to the state?

A

doing someone harm is wrong and the state should intervene to prevent harm. the govt only reason to curtail some rights is to protect others

28
Q

what does JSM believe on the intervention of the state?

A

we cant set up laws to prevent smoking or sexual preference, but only set up laws to prevent harm to others. we have the right of free action and free speech

29
Q

what are the problems with JSM state intervention?

A

are there instances of justified paternalism e,g drug taking, seatbelts and hate speech

30
Q

what is a constitution?

A

the body of fundamental principles that set out how a state is governed

31
Q

what is entrenchment of rights?

A

making the constitution difficult to change, limit the potential of the majority to vote away certain rights

32
Q

what are some of the fears of entrenchment?

A
  1. insulating valid rights might involve insulating invalid rights e.g 2nd amendment and use of weapons on the population
  2. codifying rights leads to ‘second class rights’, rights available to you if code permits it
  3. law needs interpretation, who interprets

POLI100 (5 decks)

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