Foundational political theory from Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, framed for an intro political science course.
40 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- Who wrote The Prince?
- Niccolò Machiavelli
- In The Prince, what does Machiavelli mean by virtu?
- The skill, cunning, and capability to acquire and maintain power
- According to Machiavelli, is it better for a prince to be feared or loved?
- Feared, if a choice must be made, because fear ensures obedience when love alone does not
- What role does Machiavelli assign to fortune in a prince's success?
- Fortune determines roughly half of outcomes, but a skilled prince can counter it through preparedness and adaptation
- What distinction does Machiavelli draw between how a prince should appear and how he actually is?
- A prince must appear virtuous but may act otherwise if necessary for the state, because people judge by appearance
- For Machiavelli, what is the foundation of a state's power?
- Strong military and the prince's ability to command loyalty and respect through effective rule
- What is Machiavelli's view on whether cruelty can ever be justified?
- Yes, if it is necessary to maintain order and the state's survival, provided it is decisive and not excessive
- In Hobbes' Leviathan, what does he call the condition of humans without a sovereign?
- A state of nature, characterized as a war of all against all
- Complete Hobbes' description: life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and ___.
- short
- What does Hobbes mean by the Leviathan?
- The absolute sovereign (ruler) whose power is necessary to enforce peace and prevent the chaos of the state of nature
- According to Hobbes, what motivates people to leave the state of nature and form a social contract?
- Fear of death and the desire for self-preservation, which make the chaos of the state of nature worse than submission to authority
- Does Hobbes believe the sovereign should have limits on their power?
- No, he argues the sovereign must have absolute authority to maintain peace, otherwise people revert to the state of nature
- In Hobbes' state of nature, what natural rights do humans possess?
- The right to do anything necessary to preserve their own life, limited only by their power
- What is the basis of obedience to the sovereign in Hobbes' theory?
- Fear and rational self-interest, not moral obligation or legitimacy
- What major work did John Locke write to defend limited government?
- Two Treatises of Government