Instructions:
Write approximately 7 pages on the question below. We hope that they will give you scope to explore some of the thinkers you have read in a way that permits you to demonstrate your knowledge of the readings and “show your stuff.”
Read this exam carefully. Make clear to the reader which question (or version of the question) you are answering. Remember, the text is your protection. Cite well and often. A good essay will demonstrate knowledge of the reading, and reflection on the question. We reward daring.
Question:
All of the theorists we have considered have thought about the relationship between violence and political authority. Discuss the relationship between politics and violence in two (or more) of the theorists we have read. Depending on whom you choose, you may want to consider the utility of violence, when violence can be justified morally, and strategies to suppress violence.
Texts:
For below texts without links or attachments, please reference the best-selling English versions (printed version if possible)
* The Prince (Machiavelli)
* The Leviathan (Hobbes)
* The First and Second Treatise; Social Contract (Hobbes)
* Manuscriipt from the Putney Debates [https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/1647-the-putney-debates]
* Of Social Contract (Rousseau)
* The General Will; The Discourse on Political Economy; Sex, Provision and Power (Rousseau)
* Declaration of Independence
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
* Philosophy of History (Hegel)
* The Communist Manifesto (Marx) [https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/]
* Capital; Chapter X “Working Day” (Marx) [https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch10.htm]
* On the Genealogy of Morality (Nietzsche)
* Types of Legitimate Authority (Weber)
* Politics as a Vocation (Weber) [Attached]
Notes:
* See attached rubric for grading criteria
* Always cite when unsure
* No unsupported claims
* Fresh/unconventional arguments preferred (nothing politically incorrect)
* Try to incorporate Nietzsche’s second essay in On the Genealogy of Morals
