PYQ Flashcards
(25 cards)
Core Concepts
PYQ: “What is the difference between Power and Authority? Explain how the concept of authority has evolved over time.” (2021)
Power: Ability to influence behavior;
Authority: Legitimate power
Thinkers
PYQ: “What is the difference between Power and Authority? Explain how the concept of authority has evolved over time.” (2021)
- Max Weber (Traditional, Charismatic, Legal-Rational)
- Steven Lukes (Three Faces of Power)
- Hannah Arendt: “Power corresponds to the human ability not just to act but to act in concert.”
Book/Quotes
PYQ: “What is the difference between Power and Authority? Explain how the concept of authority has evolved over time.” (2021)
Lukes: Power: A Radical View
Weber: Economy and Society
Contemporary Link
PYQ: “What is the difference between Power and Authority? Explain how the concept of authority has evolved over time.” (2021)
- Crisis of authority in democratic institutions (e.g., SCOTUS, Parliament)
- Rise of technocratic power (AI governance)
Tip
PYQ: “What is the difference between Power and Authority? Explain how the concept of authority has evolved over time.” (2021)
Use a diagram showing the evolution of authority (divine → traditional → legal-rational → discursive forms)
Core Concepts
PYQ: “Discuss the concept of equality. Distinguish between formal and substantive equality.” (2020)
Formal Equality: Equal treatment under law
Substantive Equality: Positive discrimination to ensure outcomes
Thinkers
PYQ: “Discuss the concept of equality. Distinguish between formal and substantive equality.” (2020)
- John Rawls (Difference Principle)
- Amartya Sen (Capability Approach)
- Marx (Equality in outcomes)
Book/Quotes
PYQ: “Discuss the concept of equality. Distinguish between formal and substantive equality.” (2020)
Rawls: “Inequalities are to be arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged.”
Contemporary Link
PYQ: “Discuss the concept of equality. Distinguish between formal and substantive equality.” (2020)
EWS quota, Caste Census, Gender-based reservation
Tip
PYQ: “Discuss the concept of equality. Distinguish between formal and substantive equality.” (2020)
Interlink with GS Paper II – Indian Constitution (Affirmative Action & Social Justice)
Core Concepts
PYQ: “Explain the Rawlsian concept of Justice. How is it different from the Libertarian view of Nozick?” (2019)
Rawls: Justice as fairness
Nozick: Entitlement theory
Thinkers
PYQ: “Explain the Rawlsian concept of Justice. How is it different from the Libertarian view of Nozick?” (2019)
- John Rawls: Veil of Ignorance, Two Principles of Justice
- Robert Nozick: Anarchy, State and Utopia
Book/Quotes
PYQ: “Explain the Rawlsian concept of Justice. How is it different from the Libertarian view of Nozick?” (2019)
Nozick: “Taxation of earnings from labor is on par with forced labor.”
Contemporary Link
PYQ: “Explain the Rawlsian concept of Justice. How is it different from the Libertarian view of Nozick?” (2019)
Debates on wealth tax, Universal Basic Income, redistributive policies
Tip
PYQ: “Explain the Rawlsian concept of Justice. How is it different from the Libertarian view of Nozick?” (2019)
Draw a table: Rawls vs. Nozick (State Role, View on Justice, Redistribution, Liberty)
Core Concepts
PYQ: “‘Liberty and Equality are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent.’ Comment.” (2022)
Interdependence of liberty (freedom to act) and equality (fair opportunity)
Thinkers
PYQ: “‘Liberty and Equality are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent.’ Comment.” (2022)
- T.H. Green (Positive Liberty)
- Isaiah Berlin (Two Concepts of Liberty)
- Rousseau (General Will as reconciliation)
Book/Quotes
PYQ: “‘Liberty and Equality are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent.’ Comment.” (2022)
Berlin: “Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep.”
Contemporary Link
PYQ: “‘Liberty and Equality are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent.’ Comment.” (2022)
Internet shutdowns, UCC vs. Minority Rights, LGBTQ+ rights
Tip
PYQ: “‘Liberty and Equality are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent.’ Comment.” (2022)8
Interlink with Gandhi & Ambedkar in Indian context: social liberty = political liberty
Core Concepts
PYQ: “Discuss the Marxist view of the State. Is the Marxist theory of State still relevant in contemporary society?” (2018)
State as instrument of class domination; Withering away of the state
Thinkers
PYQ: “Discuss the Marxist view of the State. Is the Marxist theory of State still relevant in contemporary society?” (2018)
- Karl Marx
- Antonio Gramsci (Hegemony)
- Althusser (Ideological State Apparatus)
Book/Quotes
PYQ: “Discuss the Marxist view of the State. Is the Marxist theory of State still relevant in contemporary society?” (2018)
Marx: The state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the bourgeoisie.
Contemporary Link
Corporate lobbying, media capture, surveillance capitalism
PYQ: “Discuss the Marxist view of the State. Is the Marxist theory of State still relevant in contemporary society?” (2018)
