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Home: Polsc 672: Study Guide for All Units POLSC 672 Study Guides Study Guide for Unit 1_____________________________________________
2. What were some of the problems associated with ancient, pure democracy, and what was Aristotle's proposed solution to these problems? 3. Define "republic." How does it differ from pure democracy? 4. Why is the United States called a "democratic republic?" 5. Who was De Tocqueville, and what were his concerns about democracy? 6. Explain the difference between liberal democracy, social democracy and people's democracy.
1. In Euripides' "The Suppliants," what is so great about democracy, according to Theseus? What does the Theban messenger find fault with? 2. In Pericles' "Funeral Oration," recorded for us by the ancient historian Thucydides, Pericles praises Athenian democracy. What makes it so special, according to Pericles? 3. Why are the fallen to be admired and remembered, according to Pericles. Can a country be democratic and require such ultimate devotion to the collective interests (the interests of the state). 4. Describe Aristotle's "polity." What makes it better than pure democracy? 5. What kind of government do you think Machiavelli would recommend, based on your reading? 6. What "dangers" does republican government avoid, and how, according to John Adams? 7. According to De Tocqueville, what must be done to make democracy successful? 8. In the aftermath of 9-11, why does Danielle Allen think that education is so vitally important for the preservation of democracy? Study Guide for Unit 2_____________________________________________ Chapter 3, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal 1. What is the liberal view of freedom? 2. How did liberalism emerge from feudalism?
4. Explain the "state of nature" and "social contract" concepts in Hobbes' philosophy. 5. Who was John Locke, and how did he refine and change Hobbes's ideas? 6. Who was Adam Smith, and how did he challenge mercantilism? 7. Explain the split between neoclassical liberalism and welfare liberalism. Can you see the origins of today's "conservatives" and "liberals" in this split? 8. What is the basic difference between the liberalism of Rawls and the liberalism of Nozick?
1. Describe Hobbes's "state of nature." How do people get out of the state of nature to form a government? 2. How does Locke defend the idea of religious toleration? 3. What is the "division of labor" according to Adam Smith, and what positive outcomes does he see flowing from this division of labor? 4. What is that "one very simple principle" according to Mill which dictates when government may regulate the individual's conduct? 5. Can you see liberal themes in King's "Letter"? 6. Using T. H. Green's framework, explain the difference between negative and positive freedom, and why Green thinks positive freedom is important. 7. Why does Murry Rothbard think government should be abolished? 8. Explain Spragens' contention that liberalism should not mean libertarianism. Study Guide for Unit 3_____________________________________________ Chapter 4, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal 1. What assumptions does conservatism make about human nature? 2. Who was Edmund Burke? What was it about the French Revolution that he vehemently denounced? 3. Why did Burke reject the liberal notion of a "social contract" among individuals? 4. What kind of change did Burke approve of? 5. What elements did Burke find essential to good government? 6. What is the difference between conservatism and "reaction." 7. Explain the conservative's disapproval of "levelling." 8. What is the difference between traditional conservatism, individualist conservatism and neoconservatism?
1. According to Burke, what is true liberty? 2. To whom is Burke referring when he writes about the "true natural aristocracy?" 3. What does de Maistre mean when he says that the French constitution "was made for man. But there is no such thing as man in the world." 4. What is "mass man" as Ortega Y Gasset describes him? What is so dangerous about "mass man." 5. What are some attributes of a conservative, according to Oakeshott? With what kind of conservatism do you think Oakeshott identifies? 6. What ills for society does "levelling" create, according to the fable by Jacquetta Hawkes? 7. According to Robert Bork, what have the twin impulses of radical individualism and radical egalitarianism done to our society since the revolutionary changes of the 1960's? 8. How does Ralph Reed address the concern that evangelicals who are involved in conservative politics will be too rigid in their approach to policies? Study Guide for Unit 4_____________________________________________ Chapter 5, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. 1. Explain the key ideas that Marx gained from Hegel's philosophy. 2. How did Marx modify Hegel's theory of history? 3. What is the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariate? 4. What is Marx's attitude toward religion? 5. Why is capitalism the final stage before communism, according to Marx?
1. How did Engels shape Marxist thought? 2. How did the situation in Russia differ from the ideal situation (in Marx's theory) for a communist revolution? 3. What was the role of the communist party, according to Lenin? 4. Lenin added an analysis of imperialism to Marxist thought? What was Lenin's definition of imperialism, and what was its role in establishing communism world-wide? 5. How did Stalin change the communist party in the Soviet Union? 6. Explain Stalin's conception of "DiaMat." What did he use it for?
8. What was Mao's attitude towards intellectuals? Why did he have this attitude? 9. Has communism died with the fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, or do you think there is a future for communism?
1. How does Robert Owen see human nature, and how does he recommend changing things to reorient human beings away from selfishness? 2. How does Gould define "market socialism." 3. In what way is "market socialism" democratic? In what way might it not be democratic? 4. How does Bernstein criticize "hardline" Marxists? 5. If not in the way that Marx and Engels described, how does Bernstein think we will move toward socialism? 6. What is Lenin's argument with Bernstein's idea of evolutionary socialism? 7. How does Lenin deal with the objection that peasants are not the same as proletarians? 8. How does Mao reconcile the concepts "democracy" and "dictatorship" so that they are compatible? Study Guide for Unit 5_____________________________________________ Chapter 7, "Fascism," Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal 1. What is totalitarianism? How can both communism and fascism be described as totalitarian? 2. What was the "Counter-Enlightenment," and what is its significance for the later development of fascism? 3. What is "irrationalism," and what was its role in fascist ideology? 4. How did Mussolini come to power, and what was his particular appeal to the Italian people? 5. How did Hitler come to power? 6. How did Hitler appeal to the German people? How did his appeal differ from Mussolini's?
1. Joseph-Arthur De Gobineau's writings are an example of Counter-Enlightenment thought. What elements of Enlightenment thought does he reject? 2. Why is Gobineau so concerned about the "mixing" of the blood of different races? 3. What objections does fascist Alfredo Rocco bring up against
liberal, democratic and socialist ideologies? 4. What kind of man does Mussolini (and all fascists) despise? 5. Explain what you think Mussolini means when he describes fascism as "a spiritualized conception" of man. 6. How does Mussolini describe the "fascist State?" 7. According to Mussolini, what do "liberal, democratic, socialist, and Masonic" ideas have in common? 8. What is Adolph Hitler's opinion of the "masses." 9. What are the qualities of the Aryan, and what are the qualities of the Jew, according to Hitler? Study Guide for Unit 6_____________________________________________ Chapter 10, "The Future of Ideology," Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal 1. What might be some of the powerful ideological forces in the 21st century? 2. How is nationalism expressing itself in the modern world? 3. What is the appeal of Islam? Do you think Islam has universal appeal (will spread beyond its current borders)? 4. Why might environmentalism become a serious ideological competitor in the years ahead? 5. Do you think liberal or social democracy is likely to win over other political ideologies in the future? Why or why not?
1. On what basis does Peter Singer establish animal rights? How does he define "speciesism?" 2. Do you find Singer's arguments convincing or not? Explain. 3. According to Dave Foreman, why is it so important to protect the "wilderness?" 4. How does John Corvino attempt to disprove the assertion that homosexuality is "unnatural?" 5. According to Corvino, what is "homophobia" and why must it be overcome? 6. How does Marilyn Frye define "oppression?" Describe its particular manifestation in the situation of American women, according to Frye. 7. What kinds of arguments does Frye use to show that the oppression of women is a serious problem that must be overcome. 8. After reading Oren Lyons on "Spirituality, Equality, and Natural Law," explain what he thinks Native Americans have to contribute that is unique and needed and lacking in other modern ideologies such as liberalism and communism. 9. What are people being liberated from in "liberation theology" as described by Gustavo Gutierrez? 10. For Abd Al-Salam Faraj, what is "jihad" and when does jihad become an individual duty?
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