01
True or false
1 point
True or false: Social-contract theory generally claims that everyone literally signed an agreement establishing political rules.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
06 Rights, Contracts, and Justice Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 06 Rights, Contracts, and Justice, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Choose one
1 point
Which political arrangement best matches Hobbes’s account of why people authorize government?
- A
Authorize a powerful sovereign to secure peace and protect people from violence.
- B
Limit government to protecting natural rights and permit resistance when it fails.
- C
Require legitimate laws to express the people’s common political will.
- D
Choose principles from behind a veil of ignorance.
03
Fill in the blank
1 point
A protection that requires others not to interfere is typically called a .
04
Written response
1 point
What does Rawls call the condition that prevents parties choosing principles from knowing their own class, talents, gender, religion, or social position?
05
Choose all
1 point
Select all the options that state elements of Rawls’s principles of justice.
- A
An equal and adequate scheme of fundamental liberties for everyone, compatible with the same liberties for others.
- B
An equal distribution of every resource, regardless of its effects on people’s prospects.
- C
Fairly open offices and opportunities, with inequalities arranged to benefit the least advantaged.
- D
The greatest total benefit, even if the least advantaged are made worse off.
06
True or false
1 point
True or false: A right recognized by law is necessarily morally justified.
- A
True
- B
False
07
Written response
1 point
What is the surname of the philosopher associated with the contractualist approach that asks whether principles could be reasonably rejected by those affected?
08
Fill in the blank
1 point
A right that typically requires some provision or assistance is called a .
09
Choose one
1 point
A government persistently fails to protect people’s life, liberty, and property. Which response best fits Locke’s view?
- A
Government fails to protect people’s natural rights, so its authority may be resisted.
- B
Government expresses the common political will, so individuals must always obey it.
- C
A powerful sovereign is needed to secure peace, regardless of rights protection.
- D
The parties to a hypothetical choice situation do not know their social positions.
10
Choose all
1 point
A policy gives small conveniences to many people but imposes a severe, avoidable burden on one person. Select all considerations relevant to a contractualist assessment.
- A
Add up all benefits and harms and choose whichever policy has the largest net total.
- B
Consider whether the person bearing a severe burden has a complaint others could reasonably reject.
- C
Compare the strength of people’s reasons, including objections to feasible alternatives.
- D
Treat any objection from any person as an automatic veto.
11
Choose one
1 point
Which policy best fits Rawls’s account of when unequal pay might be permitted?
- A
Reject any unequal pay, since justice requires everyone to receive exactly the same resources.
- B
Permit unequal pay only when the institutions producing it improve the prospects of the least advantaged, while preserving equal basic liberties and fair opportunity.
- C
Permit unequal pay whenever a majority agrees to it, even if the least advantaged are harmed.
- D
Permit unequal pay only when it maximizes the total benefits received by the most advantaged.
12
Open ended
1 point
A city proposes a rule that is efficient and supported by a majority but places a substantial burden on a small group. Explain what a sound justification for the rule should address and why majority support alone is insufficient.
13
Choose one
1 point
Which account of legitimate law best reflects Rousseau’s view?
- A
Legitimate laws should protect natural rights, and authority may be resisted when government fails.
- B
Legitimate laws should express the people’s common political will.
- C
People should authorize a powerful sovereign primarily to secure peace from violence.
- D
Principles should be selected by parties who do not know their social position.
14
True or false
1 point
True or false: Social contract theory generally claims that every person literally signed an agreement establishing political authority.
- A
True
- B
False
15
Choose one
1 point
A person claims a right that protects them from government censorship. Which description best fits this kind of protection?
- A
It requires officials to provide a service or assistance.
- B
It typically requires others not to interfere.
- C
It is necessarily recognized by a legal system.
- D
It guarantees that everyone receives identical resources.
16
Choose one
1 point
A government repeatedly fails to protect people's life, liberty, and property. Which response best matches Locke's account of political authority?
- A
The government may restrict natural rights whenever doing so promotes a common political will.
- B
People should authorize a powerful sovereign primarily to secure peace.
- C
People may resist governmental authority when it fails to protect their natural rights.
- D
Political rules are legitimate only if they maximize the total benefits received by society.
17
Written response
1 point
What does John Rawls call the hypothetical choice situation in which parties select principles for society without knowing their own position?
18
Choose one
1 point
Which account best captures Rousseau's distinctive concern about legitimate law?
- A
People should authorize a powerful sovereign to secure peace and protect them from violence.
- B
Government is bound to protect natural rights, and its authority may be resisted if it fails.
- C
Legitimate laws should express the people's common political will so people can obey laws while remaining free.
- D
Principles of justice should be chosen by parties who do not know their place in society.
19
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best distinguishes Scanlonian contractualism from contractarianism?
- A
Both approaches judge principles only by whether they maximize total benefits.
- B
Contractarianism often emphasizes mutual advantage, while Scanlonian contractualism asks whether principles are justifiable to each person.
- C
Contractualism treats any individual objection as decisive, while contractarianism does not allow agreements.
- D
Contractarianism concerns only legal rights, while contractualism concerns only moral rights.
20
Written response
1 point
What is the name of Rawls's principle requiring social and economic inequalities to work to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged?