King’s College London
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
This paper is part of an examination of the College counting towards
the award of a degree. Examinations are governed by the College
Regulations under the authority of the Academic Board.
BSc/BA/BEng EXAMINATION
4AANB006
Political Philosophy I
SUMMER 2013
TIME ALLOWED: 2 HOURS
Answer TWO questions.
Avoid overlap in your answers.
Candidates should note that the paper covers two different syllabi and
so they should not worry about the appearance of some questions on
material that they did not study.
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4AANB006
Answer TWO questions.
1 What is the strongest argument in defence of political obligation?
2 Is the autonomy of the individual compatible with the authority
of the state?
3 When, if ever, is paternalism justified?
4 ‘Is it not the supreme exercise of power to get another or others
to have the desires you want them to have—that is, to secure
their compliance by controlling their thoughts and desires?’
Discuss.
5 EITHER a. Is there a paradox in the theory of democracy?
OR b. Why, if at all, is democracy desirable?
6 What is the relationship between democracy and majority rule?
7 Would the parties in the original position select the difference
principle?
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4AANB006
8 Critically evaluate Nozick’s claim that ‘liberty upsets patterns’.
9 EITHER a. ‘Rawls’s theory of justice does not do justice to
women.’ Discuss.
OR b. ‘Special exemptions for cultural minorities are not a
requirement of liberal justice.’ Discuss.
10
Is there a morally relevant distinction between brute luck and
option luck?
11
Are egalitarians committed to levelling down?
12
‘It is not at all clear that life under an absolute sovereign
would be preferable to life in the state of nature.’ Discuss with
reference to Hobbes’s Leviathan.
13
What is the role of consent in Locke’s political theory?
14
Is the state a necessary evil?
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