Free Practice Quiz Question List

10 Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 10 Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

True or false: Social-contract theories generally claim that every citizen literally signed an agreement establishing the government.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

What term does Rousseau use for the common political interest of citizens that legitimate law should express?

Fill in the blank

1 point

In Locke's account, people consent to establish government to protect and serve the .

Choose one

1 point

Everyone has the same formal right to run for office, but some people have much less access to education, time, and money. Which conclusion best reflects the distinction between formal equality and equality of opportunity?

A
The policy establishes equality of resources because everyone has the same formal right.
B
The policy may leave unequal opportunity because access to education, time, or money affects who can use the right.
C
The policy guarantees equal political influence because the right is formally open to all.
D
The policy establishes liberty as freedom from all government interference.

Choose all

1 point

Select all the examples identified as civil and political rights.

A
Freedom of conscience
B
Freedom of expression
C
Freedom of assembly
D
Due process
E
Voting
F
A guaranteed equal distribution of all resources

Written response

1 point

What does Rawls call the hypothetical choice situation in which people select principles of justice without knowing their own social position or natural advantages?

Fill in the blank

1 point

Under Rawls's difference principle, social and economic inequalities are permissible only when they work to the .

True or false

1 point

True or false: In Hobbes's theory, a government's inability to protect its subjects undermines the basis of their political obedience.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Citizens disagree about religion and the good life, but a government must justify a coercive law. Which approach best expresses the standard of public justification?

A
The law is legitimate only if every citizen agrees with its moral basis.
B
The law is justified if it reflects the preference of the largest group, regardless of the reasons given.
C
The law should be supported by reasons that can be defended to those subject to it as free and equal, even when they disagree.
D
The law is justified only if it avoids coercion altogether.

Choose all

1 point

Select all the features that support democratic legitimacy beyond simply holding elections.

A
Meaningful participation by citizens
B
Fair procedures
C
Respect for citizens as political equals
D
The presence of elections, even if participation is not meaningful
E
Unrestricted power for whichever group wins a majority

Choose one

1 point

What democratic concern is raised by Plato's proposal to entrust rule to guardians guided by philosophical understanding?

A
It assumes that a majority vote automatically protects every person's rights.
B
It may substitute the judgment of supposedly wiser rulers for citizens' freedom and equal political standing.
C
It makes political roles depend entirely on equal distributions of wealth.
D
It requires rulers to follow the sum of private preferences rather than a common interest.

Choose one

1 point

A state maintains order and meets a minimum standard of legitimacy, but distributes power and opportunity unfairly. Which conclusion follows from the distinction between legitimacy and justice?

A
The state must be just because maintaining order is sufficient for fairness.
B
The state cannot have any legitimacy if power or opportunity is distributed unequally.
C
Legitimacy and justice are identical, so the two descriptions cannot both apply.
D
The state may meet a minimum standard of legitimacy while still distributing power or opportunity unjustly.

Open ended

1 point

A popular law restricts a religious practice followed by a minority. Explain how at least two of Locke's, Rawls's, and Rousseau's approaches would assess the law, and why majority support alone may not settle whether it is justified.

Choose one

1 point

A city gives every resident the formal right to run for office, but high campaign costs and unequal access to free time make that right much harder for some residents to use. Which distinction best describes this situation?

A
The example shows equal resources but unequal legal status.
B
The example distinguishes formal equality from effective opportunity.
C
The example shows that equal political status requires identical outcomes.
D
The example shows that equal rights eliminate differences in people’s ability to use them.

True or false

1 point

True or false: If a policy wins a majority vote, that fact alone is enough to establish that it is just and democratically legitimate.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

In Rawls’s original position, what is the purpose of the veil of ignorance?

A
It lets people choose principles that favor the social group they expect to belong to.
B
It asks people to choose principles without knowing their own social position or natural advantages.
C
It requires citizens to sign a literal agreement before a government may exercise authority.
D
It gives a sovereign unlimited power to maintain peace.

Written response

1 point

In Locke’s account, what is the basis on which people authorize a government to protect their rights and serve the public good?

Choose one

1 point

A government proposes extensive surveillance to prevent violence. Which comparison best captures how Hobbesian and Lockean approaches could assess the proposal?

A
A Hobbesian view may emphasize preventing violence, while a Lockean view asks whether the policy violates rights or exceeds government’s protective role.
B
Both Hobbes and Locke treat privacy as an absolute right that rules out government surveillance.
C
A Lockean view supports any surveillance policy that maintains order, while Hobbes rejects government enforcement.
D
Both views judge the policy solely by whether it was approved by a majority.

Choose one

1 point

A policy leaves some people much better off than others. According to Rawls’s difference principle, what must be true for this social and economic inequality to be permissible?

A
Inequalities are permissible whenever they increase the total wealth of society.
B
Inequalities are permissible only when they work to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged.
C
Inequalities are permissible only when everyone receives exactly the same income.
D
Inequalities are permissible whenever they result from voluntary exchanges, regardless of their effects.

Written response

1 point

A person is free to speak without censorship. Which meaning of liberty does this illustrate?