CPFM Module I
Political Philosophy, Social and Public Policy cheat sheet
Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.
Introduction to political philosophy
- Political philosophy is the systematic study of the state, government, law, liberty, justice and the legitimate exercise of political power.
- It asks not only how institutions work but how they ought to be designed and justified.
- Hobbes justified an absolute sovereign as the escape from a violent state of nature; Locke rested government on the consent of the governed to protect life, liberty and property; Rousseau located legitimate authority in the general will.
- The discipline runs from Plato and Aristotle through the social-contract, modern liberal and critical traditions to postmodern approaches that question the universal claims of earlier theories.
Key terms
- Plato
- Argued for rule by philosopher-kings, guided by knowledge of the Good rather than popular opinion.
- Aristotle
- Held that the state exists for the sake of the good life, and that its constitution should be judged by whether it serves the common good.
- Thomas Hobbes
- Argued that individuals consent to an absolute sovereign to escape a violent state of nature.
- John Locke
- Held that legitimate government rests on the consent of the governed and exists to protect natural rights, life, liberty and property.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Argued legitimate authority derives from the general will of the people, expressed through a social contract.
- John Rawls
- Developed a modern theory of justice as fairness, examined in depth in the chapter on justice.
The rest of the sheet covers
- Happiness
- Freedom
- Equality
- Justice
- Democracy and other forms of government
- Devolution in Kenya
- Public policy
- Exam technique and revision
- Glossary