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What groups are studied in political theory
political institutions
political practices
political forms of organization
What is being studied in political theory
what groups and whether these groups can be justified
how these groups should be arranged
the decisions these groups should make
What are political scientists asking
They are asking descriptive questions and are asking how the world is
Are political scientists objective
Yes
What are political theorists asking
Normative questions and are asking how the world should be
Are political theorists objective
No
What are normative questions
Dont have falsifiable answers
What is falsifiable
Can be proven to be false
What are conceptual questions
Often contested, leading to disagreement that cannot be resolved
What types of questions are political theorists primarily interested in and why
Conceptual and normative questions which cannot be resolved or proven right or wrong
BC most political decisions are normative
What tools does political theory provide us with
Clarifying values being invoked
Drawing attention to unstated assumptions
Drawing attention to alternative possibilities
What theory is much of political theory known as
Ideal theory
What is ideal theory
Everybody complies with the principles and knows that everyone else will comply
very unrealistic
What are the two parts of an argument
premise
conclusion
What are premises
Statements in support of the conclusion
What is the conclusion
The claim a person is trying to prove
What are the steps to evaluating a debate
Break the argument down
Ask: do the premises support the argument?
Ask: are the premises reasonable/ acceptable/ true?
Why does the state need to be justified
State has monopoly on legitimate use of coercion
the monopoly needs to be justified for it to be legitimate
What is procedural legitimacy
Its decisions are democratic
What is outcome legitimacy
The state does what is best for its citizens
What do Bentham and Utilitarians believe
Legitimacy depends on whether a law contributes to the happiness of its citizens
What is political obligation
Each of us are under a moral obligation to obey every law that provides us with a content-independent reason for doing so
What is political obligation NOT
why we legally have to obey the law
why we actually obey the law
What does each of us mean (Each of us are under a moral obligation to obey every law that provides us with a content-independent reason for doing so)
Every person present in the political community
What does content-independent reason mean (Each of us are under a moral obligation to obey every law that provides us with a content-independent reason for doing so )
Functions independently from the nature, character, or content of the action to be performed
What is philosophical anarchism
A theory that believes that there is no content independent moral obligation to obey the law
What are the 2 versions of philosophical anarchsim
A priori
A posteriori
What is the consent theory
Citizens are obliged to obey the law because they have consented to do so
What are objections towards the consent theory
Express consent
Tacit consent
What is express consent
Doesnt generate obligations in many people
What is tacit consent
Has a very weak link to the obligation to obey
What is a priori
When it is impossible to provide a satisfactory account of any obligation to obey the law
What is a posteriori
When a satisfactory account of the obligation to obey the law has not yet been found
What is the fair play theory
Those who have received their fair share of benefits of a just practice have an obligation to take their fair share of its burdens
Those who have gotten to benefits of living in a law abiding society have an obligation to shoulder the burdens of obeying the law
What are the objections of the fair play theory
Mere receipt of benefit
What is the mere receipt of benefit
When you receive a (unchosen) benefit it seems insufficient to put anyone under an obligation to contribute to it
Who are 2 scholars that disagree with fair play theory
Nozick
Simmons
What is the radio programme
Nozick
Voluntary actions justify outcomes, no one is forced to benefit or contribute
What is the receiving vs accepting a benefit
Simmons
Most citizens only receive but do not accept to receiving state benefits
What is the associative duties theory
People acquire political obligations simply in virtue of belonging to their political community and identifying with it
What are objections to associative duties
are families and polities relevantly similar?
does the associative theory confuse being under an obligation with feeling that one is under an obligation?
does the associative theory imply that identifying with an unjust polity would mean that one had the obligation to obey it?
What is the natural duties theory
We have a natural duty to obey the law that is derived from a general duty to support just or nearly just institutions
What are objections to the natural duties theory
will not justify an obligation to obey the law in unjust states
not content-independent
is it possible for the duty to support reasonably just institutions generate an obligation that binds the citizens of a state to its particular laws and instutions?
particularity requirement
How do we meet the particularity challenge
Each citizen to acknowledge and act upon a special obligation to support the just institutions under which they live
What is a pluralist account
Combines all 4 theories
consent
fair play
natural duties
associative
What is civil disobedience
a public, conscientious and non-violent breach of a law that aims to bring about change in a law or government policy
Why is civil disobedience not the same as a legal protest
Because a civil disobedience breaks the law
Why is civil disobedience not the same thing as a revolution
Because it respects the law
if someone gets arrested they will accept getting arrested
What is direct civil disobedience
Law being broken is the same law that is regarded as unjust
What is indirect civil disobedience
A different law is being broken
What is conscientious (civil disobedience)
Motive for disobedience must be a sincere belief that a law is unjust or unfair
What is public (civil disobedience)
Public act and is communicative
appealing to the sense of justice of others
must take responsibility for breaking the law
What is the no violence perspective of non violence (civil disobedience)
MLK Jr = we should be as pure as the ends we seek
Rawls = pragmatic reasons
What is the moderate view of non violence (civil disobedience)
Psychical and psychological harm is NOT okay but self harm, property damage, etc is OK
must be directly related to the law/ policy that is seen as unjust
Brownlee
What is the extreme view of non violence (civil disobedience)
Direct violence against others could be justified
Morreal
What is the natural law theory
Justification for civil disobedience
injustice must be serious and longstanding
civil disobedience must be the last resort
already used proper political channels in a democracy
Who agrees with the natural law theory
MLK Jr
What are some objections towards the natural law theory
Concerns about anarchy and others putting themselves above the law
therefore, civil disobedience should never be justified
What are some other reasons people may justify civil disobedience
Using any justifications for political disobedience
Who created the 2 kinds of liberties
Berlin
What are the 2 kinds of liberty
Positive liberty
Negative liberty
What is negative liberty
The absence of a constraint is usually imposed by others
What are the constraints on freedom for negative freedom
Actual external interference
What is positive freedom
People can be constrained not only by external factors but also by internal factors and social/ material factors
What is the master of one’s self
Implies there are 2 selves: higher and lower
What is your higher self
What you actually want to do
What is your lower self
Short term satisfaction
When are we positively free according to positive freedom
When we become a master of one’s self: our higher self
What is republican freedom
Freedom as a non-domination
does not require actual interference
requires awareness of vulnerability on both sides
the powerless
the empowered
What is domination
The capacity to interfere on an arbitrary basis in certain choices that someone else could make
What are the anti-powers for republican freedom
democratic decision making
university policies/ regulations
labour/ tenant laws
What are the 2 groups that debate poverty and what do they believe
Socialists
The poor (under capitalism) are less free than the rich
Libertians
The poor are no less free than the rich
What do libertians argue
Freedom is compromised by interference from others, not by a lack of means
However, lacking money is a lack of means, not an interference from others
Therefore, poverty does not imply a lack of freedom
What do some libertians argue about the goverment?
The primary task of the government is to protect freedom
Relief of poverty is not part of the primary task of the government
What are the 2 socialist strategies
Strategy #1: Freedom requires not only the absence of interference but also the presence of abilities
rejects negative liberties
Strategy #2: Poverty leads to interference from others
accepts positive liberties
What does Amartya Sen believe
Socialist strategy #1:
well being is constitued by various functions
health, happiness, self respect
a person has the capability to achieve a functioning if they are effectively able to do so
if a person lacks the capability to achieve a functioning they are unfree
What does Berlin believe
That a lack of money is a lack of means to exercise freedom but not the lack of freedom itself
What did GA Cohen believe
Socialist strategy #2
People are made unfree by the interferences of others
to lack money is not merely to lack the means to do something but to lack the freedom to do that thing
Ticket argument
What are reasons to value free speech
Enables democracy
Allows truth seeking
Promotes autonomy
Who aligns with truth seeking and what does he believe
Mills
Dead dogma
What is dead dogma
A belief that people accept unthinkingly, without understanding or questioning it
happens if society silences opposing views
without debate, truth loses its meaning and people cant truly appreciate why its true
Free speech as a negative freedom
Speech is free when others do not interfere with your ability to express yourself
Free speech as a positive freedom
Speech is free when the circumstances for expressing yourself are in place
What are the options for limiting free speech
No limits
Limits on harmful speech
Limits on offensive speech
Limits on speech inconsistent with democratic citizenship
Mill’s harm principle
Don’t say something that will cause direct harm to others
Feinburg’s offense principle
Argues in favour of limiting very offensive speech
however, penalties for offensive speech should be lower than that of harmful speech
What are Feinburg’s considerations for limiting offensive speech
Extent, duration, and social value of speech
Ease of avoiding speech
Motives of speaker
The number of people who are offended
The intensity of the offensive speech
What are other effective tools for limiting speech
Legal sanctions and shaming
What is Mills terrified of
Social pressure
What is no platforming
Either the refusal of a university to give a speakers place to speak or protests by students that make speech impossible
What are the two arguments that support no platforming
It is a permissible violation of free speech
It is not a violation of free speech because you can still speak, just not at the university
What is the challenge with the definition of hate speech
Not having an over or under-inclusive definition of hate speech
Why is the challenge of hate speech a challenge
Because our definition of hate speech is what will be used to enforce laws against it
However, we have different intuitions as to what counts as hate speech
Reasons hate speech follows the harm principle
Hate speech could entice violence
Discrimination
Attacks on dignity
It is time for you to face degradation and exclusion from the society that currently shelters you - waldron
What is Boonin’s stance on hate speech
Hate speech should not be banned because it is already effectively prohibited by other legislation