POLI 107-001: Introduction to Political Theory - Third Assessment Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key theorists, principles, concepts, and definitions outlined in the POLI 107 Third Assessment Study Guide (Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Mill, Rousseau, and Marx).

Supreme Good (Machiavelli)

The highest political end, understood solely in terms of power and glory rather than moral goodness or overcoming human weaknesses.

Morality of the Ruler (Machiavelli)

The principle that the end justifies the means; rulers must be prepared to exhaust whatever means are necessary for the interest of the state and remain above any group morality.

Christian Morality (Machiavelli's critique)

An otherworldly moral framework that distracts from practical reality and preaches an ethic of weakness and servility.

Artificial Harmony (Marx)

The political condition where the individual egoism of citizens is aggregated so that 'I' becomes an artificial 'we,' unifying self-interested people to create state stability.

Economy of Violence

Machiavelli's principle of using just enough coercion to ensure compliance, reflecting an ethic of prudence and restraint.

Syllogism (Hobbes)

A deductive, logical technique that begins with simple questions and builds sequentially upon proven assumptions, yielding truth without requiring direct empirical observation.

Materialism (Hobbes)

The philosophical doctrine holding that the physical world is a mechanical system operating with geometric precision, meaning human behavior and politics are understood by uncovering the physical forces behind movement and action.

Desire and Aversion

The two fundamental types of sensation in Hobbes's psychological theory, explaining that humans naturally move toward things they want and away from things they do not want.

State of Nature (Hobbes)

A suboptimal pre-political condition characterized by natural equality, intense competition, a state of war, and continuous fear and danger of violent death.

The Leviathan

An artificial entity constructed from individual wills that wields the fear of punishment to maintain peace, ensure obedience, and restore the laws of nature.

Natural Rights (Locke)

Inherent entitlements endowed to individuals by the laws of nature, specifically life, liberty, happiness, and property.

Three Roles in the State of Nature (Locke)

The three responsibilities held by each individual in the pre-political state: executors of the law of nature, ultimate interpreters of rights, and legitimate punishers of violators.

Right to Resist (Locke)

A natural right derived from self-preservation that citizens can legitimately invoke when their government fails to protect natural rights.

Philosophical Radicalism (Bentham)

A liberal political movement whose primary objective is to increase the share of political freedom enjoyed by the citizenry.

Greatest Happiness Principle (GHP)

A utilitarian standard holding that actions are moral and should guide government policy when they produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Region of Human Liberty (Mill)

Mill's tripartite sphere of individual freedom encompassing an inward domain of consciousness, liberty of tastes and pursuits, and freedom of combination among individuals.

Harm Principle

Mill's doctrine asserting that society or government may only interfere with an individual's activities if those activities are likely to produce definite harm to others.

Alienation (Rousseau)

A psychological and social condition caused by the development of science and the arts, resulting in the erosion of morality, conflict, disappointment, and misery.

Noble Savage (Rousseau)

The pre-social natural human who is rugged, independent, happy, and guided by spontaneous urges and pity rather than reason, with simple needs satisfied through solitary action.

General Will (Rousseau)

The collective expression of a community's shared interests and moral standards, which is enforced by the state and serves as the true source of individual freedom.

Dialectic (Marx)

The mechanism of historical change in which a thesis confronts its antithesis to generate a synthesis, manifested materially as struggle between an exploited class seeking change and a dominant class resisting it.

Theory of Economic Determinism (Marx)

The historical theory stating that all human epochs are defined by their means of production, which necessitate a corresponding political, economic, and social superstructure.

Theory of Human Consciousness (Marx)

The concept that human identities are artificial social constructs utilized by the dominant economic class as instruments of power to manipulate the underclass.

Bourgeoisie and Proletariat

The two primary classes of capitalist society: the bourgeoisie is the dominant owning class that controls the wage-labor system, and the proletariat is the exploited working class.

Class Consciousness (Marx)

The awareness developed by workers of their shared exploitation and common interests, leading them to unite, overthrow capitalism, and abolish private property.

Praxis

The practical application, enactment, or realization of a theory, idea, or skill, as distinguished from purely abstract or theoretical contemplation.