Political Philosophy Quiz

Who wrote about politics being natural, humans as "political animals," and the distinction between the household and the city-state?

• Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan

• Plato – Republic

• Aristotle – Politics (Book I, chs. 1-2)

• Amartya Sen – Democracy as a Universal Value

Which work describes the just city, the role of guardians, and critiques democracy in favor of philosopher-kings?

• Plato – Republic (Selections)

• Aristotle – Politics

• Hamilton, Madison, Jay – The Federalist Papers

• Thucydides – Pericles’ Funeral Oration

Which text argues that life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish, and short," advocating for a social contract to ensure security?

• Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan (Selections)

• Plato – Republic

• Benjamin Constant – The Liberty of Ancients vs. Moderns

• Philip Pettit – Representation, Responsive and Indicative

Which reading critiques state violence, racial capitalism, and argues for Black radical anarchism?

• Alexander Bickel – The Least Dangerous Branch

• Nikolas Bowie – How the Supreme Court Dominates Our Democracy

• William C. Anderson & Zoé Samudzi – The Anarchism of Blackness (2017)

• Jane Mansbridge – Should Blacks Represent Blacks…

Which work is a personal and emotional defense of democracy during WWII?

• E.B. White – The Meaning of Democracy

• Amartya Sen – Democracy as a Universal Value

• Edmund Burke – Speech to the Electors of Bristol

• Thucydides – Pericles’ Funeral Oration

Which speech praises Athenian democracy, emphasizing civic duty and honor?

• Thucydides – Pericles’ Funeral Oration

• W.E.B. Du Bois – Souls of Black Folk

• Hamilton, Madison, Jay – The Federalist Papers

• Frederick Douglass – The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro

Which text emphasizes that democracy is not just a Western concept but a universal value that promotes freedom and economic growth?

• Amartya Sen – Democracy as a Universal Value

• Aristotle – Politics

• Michael Walzer – A Day in the Life of a Socialist Citizen

• Jane Mansbridge – Should Blacks Represent Blacks…

Which work discusses "The Veil," double consciousness, and the lived experience of Black Americans?

• Plato – Republic

• W.E.B. Du Bois – Souls of Black Folk (ch. 1)

• Frederick Douglass – The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro

• William C. Anderson & Zoé Samudzi – The Anarchism of Blackness

Which text distinguishes between ancient liberty (collective political participation) and modern liberty (individual rights)?

• Benjamin Constant – The Liberty of Ancients vs. Moderns

• Jeremy Waldron – The Core of the Case Against Judicial Review

• Hamilton, Madison, Jay – The Federalist Papers

• Edmund Burke – Speech to the Electors of Bristol

Which work describes a vision of democratic socialism and shared governance?

• Amartya Sen – Democracy as a Universal Value

• Edmund Burke – Speech to the Electors of Bristol

• Michael Walzer – A Day in the Life of a Socialist Citizen

• Philip Pettit – Representation, Responsive and Indicative