True or false: Formal equality requires applying the same rules to everyone, even though it does not guarantee that people have genuinely comparable prospects.
07 Equality, Rights, and Distributive Justice Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 07 Equality, Rights, and Distributive Justice, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
Which approach to equality focuses on whether people can relate as equals, without domination, stigma, or inferior social status?
Under strict equality, each person receives of the goods being distributed.
A society guarantees everyone enough resources to meet essential needs but allows unequal incomes above that level. Which distributive principle does this most closely reflect?
- A
It requires every person to receive exactly the same share.
- B
It prioritizes meeting essential needs or ensuring everyone reaches an adequate threshold.
- C
It judges distributions only by whether holdings arose through voluntary exchange.
- D
It permits inequality only when it maximizes total well-being.
What is the name of Rawls’s hypothetical decision situation in which people choose the basic rules of society without knowing their future social position?
True or false: If everyone has equal basic rights, society has thereby settled how income and other benefits should be distributed.
- A
True
- B
False
A policymaker evaluates two programs by comparing their effects on total well-being across society. Which distributive approach is the policymaker using?
- A
Whether each person receives an identical share
- B
Whether all inequalities arise from voluntary exchanges
- C
Whether the arrangement maximizes overall well-being
- D
Whether everyone reaches the same level of social standing
A right is a protected claim, liberty, or .
According to Rawls’s ordering of principles, which statements are correct? Select all that apply.
- A
Equal basic liberties take priority over the other principles.
- B
The difference principle takes priority over fair equality of opportunity.
- C
Fair equality of opportunity takes priority over the difference principle.
- D
All principles have equal priority and may be traded off freely.
A person argues that an unequal distribution is just because the holdings were acquired justly and transferred voluntarily. Which approach most closely matches this argument?
- A
Utilitarianism
- B
Libertarian entitlement theory
- C
Strict equality
- D
Need- or sufficiency-based justice
A person with a serious disability needs additional resources to enjoy opportunities comparable to those of others. Explain how strict equality and a need-based approach could evaluate giving that person more resources differently.
A job is legally open to everyone, but people with similar abilities and effort do not have genuinely comparable prospects of obtaining it. Which concept identifies the fairness concern?
- A
Formal equality
- B
Fair equality of opportunity
- C
Strict equality
- D
Libertarian entitlement
Which are examples of rights or protections that rights may establish? Select all that apply.
- A
Protection for freedom of speech
- B
Protection for freedom of conscience
- C
A claim to political participation
- D
A guarantee that everyone receives the same income
A scholarship program uses the same eligibility rules for every applicant. Which concept does this feature illustrate, even if applicants had very different opportunities to prepare?
- A
Fair equality of opportunity
- B
Formal equality
- C
Strict equality
- D
Relational equality
A city allocates emergency heating assistance first to households that cannot afford safe indoor temperatures, even though this gives different amounts to different households. Which principle most directly supports this approach?
- A
Strict equality
- B
Utilitarianism
- C
Need- or sufficiency-based views
- D
Libertarian entitlement
A policymaker compares two programs and supports the one expected to produce greater total well-being, while assessing the consequences for everyone affected. Which approach best describes this reasoning?
- A
Choose the policy that produces the greatest total well-being
- B
Give every person the same share regardless of consequences
- C
Ensure each person receives whatever they claim as a right
- D
Prioritize people with the least resources until everyone has equal resources
A government proposes restricting one person's freedom of conscience because doing so would make many other people better off. Which conclusion best reflects the role of rights in theories of justice?
- A
The policy is just whenever its total benefits exceed its total costs
- B
The policy is just if it gives every person an identical benefit
- C
The policy is just if it increases the average income
- D
The policy may be unjust if it violates a person's basic liberty
True or false: In Rawls’s ordering of principles, fair equality of opportunity takes priority over the difference principle.
- A
True
- B
False
What principle asks whether people with similar abilities and effort have genuinely comparable prospects of gaining positions, rather than merely whether those positions are legally open?
What is the name of Rawls’s hypothetical situation in which people choose the basic rules of society without knowing their future class, wealth, talents, or social position?