Week 1
Name Each Part of the Human Predicament Cycle
Tyranny → Revolution → Anarchy → Competing Groups → Tyranny → etc.
Name three ways Government justified it's power
Stories, myths, founding myths
Divine right of Kings (God)
Represents the mouthpiece of God
Theocracy (God gives his power to priests and other ecclesiastical rule)
Aristocracy (The wise and the wealthy)
They have wisdom about society
Democracy (Power from the people)
Summarize Libertarianism
The individual has all the power, the government is simply to preserve your freedom
The minimal state
What effects does policy play on the economy?
Who has the power to administer this?
Policy shapes which types of virtues you want to exemplify in your activity
The Government
Who were the prominent figures on the Declaration Committee?
John Adams
Ben Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
What are the two dominant political traditions that governed American Political Thought?
Can you name an advantage and disadvantage for both?
Republicanism and Lockean Liberalism
R - Advantage: Building a community
R - Disadvantage: More active government
L - Advantage: Freedom of personal interests
L - Disadvantage: Inability to think in terms of community
What were the two main purposes of the Virginian Colonies to Great Britain?
For money and to unify Britain again due to in fighting
Describe Utilitarian's view on works of art
Almost all art is equal in pleasure
How did Adam Smith think the market should be run?
Name Two Concepts he employed for this open market system
Division of Labor
The invisible hand
Who wrote Common Sense? What purpose did it have, historically speaking?
Thomas Paine
He wrote about the evilness of monarchy and how it was the worst form of government
This invigorated the people of the revolution and got a lot of fence sitters to jump to a side
Define what makes the Good Society
Freedom
Can people do whatever they want?
Virtue (the idea of the good)
Should the government promote specific ideas about what is good?
Welfare (material prosperity)
How do we promote prosperity? Is it okay letting people have more than others?
What was the Puritan's Christian Calling?
Serving God through their everyday work
Wake up early, work hard, save their money, and invest wisely, and to walk uprightly before the Lord
If God was pleased, the faithful would prosper
Describe the Concept of Telos
Also, who coined this?
"If cheerleading has a certain telos, than those who can achieve that telos should be rewarded"
The essence of the task at hand
Aristotle
Describe both Sandal's argument against line jumping and the other dude's argument for it
Against:
- Changes the intended nature of the thing being produced by the creator
- Favors the affluent/defeats the point of democracy
For:
- Everyone is benefited by this distribution of wealth
- Ques are just a bad way of handing things out
- Makes life way more efficient and beneficial in the long run
What did John Adams say to his wife famously? Why did he say that?
What did his wife say in response?
“You’re so saucy”
He was talking to his wife about how women shouldn't be focused on right-wise right now due to the state of the world and the fact that women already kind of control men
Lol all men would be tyrants if they could
What is the Problem with Government?
Can you give me an example of a good and bad government?
How can we enjoy the benefits of government without incurring their dreadful costs?
Who were the Quakers? Where did they go?
The Quakers were in Pennsylvania and were rejected by the Puritans and their Christian Society
Describe two of the Greeks approaches to the Good Society
Freedom is the ability to participate in Civic Life
Virtue is awarding the right honors to certain individuals and cultivating civic virtues
Welfare is participating in the political life
How are Government and the Economy intertwined?
Government should prevent/provide:
Fraud
Money
Definition of Property rights
Government can define the rules of the economy and what type of virtues you want to promote
What were the self evident truths of the Declaration?
Self evident truths (revises)
Human Beings:
Equal in nature
Government:
Made to secure these rights
Revolution
Necessary if government fails
What was the Magna Carta and it's significance?
A group of several documents in 1215 and was the source of foundational principles of English Law and government, which included equal justice
What was the importance of John Calvin to the Puritan's political philosophy?
The republic is formed as a covenant between the people in the purpose of glorifying God --> Neighbors watching neighbors and no kings
What are the Rules of Law?
Describe all the concepts.
Generality - must not single out individuals or groups for special treatment
Due Process - laws are applied they must be administered impartially
Consent - laws must be generally acceptable to those who must obey them
Prospectively - laws must apply to future action, not past action
Publicity - laws must be known and certain so that everyone knows of their existence and their enforcement is regular and reliable
Name all the Basic Principles of a Market Economy and what purpose they have
The Law of Demand
As the demand rises for a product, the price of that object increases
I.e. Toilet paper during the pandemic
The Law of Supply
As the price of a good or service rises, suppliers want to supply more
The Concept of Equilibrium Price
When the behavior of producers and the behavior of consumers matches
Economic Function of Products
Profits
Excess of revenue over costs
Every person, group, or nation is a low opportunity cost producer of something
Do what you’re good at, not what you enjoy
What happened at the The Battles of Princeton and Trenton that turned the war in favor of America?
Name Three big things
Paine wrote The American Crisis
Saved the moral of their soldiers, including Washington
Washington decides to pull a dramatic attack on the British in Trenton
Brings in a ton more supplies and increases enlistment
Brings in the French!