CPFM Module I

Political Philosophy, Social and Public Policy flashcards

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Complete Flashcard Reference

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What is political philosophy, and what does it ask beyond how institutions work?

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: questions of legitimacy, fairness and the proper exercise of power.

What are the three dimensions along which happiness is analysed?

Hedonic: pleasure and the absence of pain. Eudaimonic: flourishing and living virtuously. Subjective well-being: a person's own evaluation of their life. Each implies a different role for public policy in promoting happiness.

Distinguish negative liberty from positive liberty, with the policy each points to.

Negative liberty: freedom from interference by others, the absence of external obstacles. It points to minimal state intervention. Positive liberty: freedom to actually achieve self-determination and one's own goals, which may need enabling resources. It points to the state providing conditions such as education or income support so that freedom can be exercised.

How does luck egalitarianism refine equality of resources?

It separates inequalities that come from brute bad luck, which justice should correct, from those that arise from a person's own choices, which justice need not correct. Example: an inequality caused by disability is corrected; one caused by a person's own risky choice is theirs to bear.

State Rawls's two principles of justice.

The Liberty Principle: each person is entitled to the most extensive set of basic liberties compatible with the same liberties for everyone else. The Difference Principle: social and economic inequalities are permitted only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society, and attach to positions open to all under fair equality of opportunity.

How do you tell a parliamentary democracy from a presidential one?

Ask whether the executive is drawn from the legislature. Parliamentary: the executive is drawn from and accountable to the legislature (parliament). Presidential: the executive (president) is elected separately from, and is largely independent of, the legislature.

Name the welfare models and what sets each apart.

Residual: the state intervenes only as a last resort, when family and market provision fail. Solidarity (institutional): universal welfare provided as a normal function of society, funded collectively. Institutional: welfare as a permanent, integrated institution of society, not a stopgap. Industrial (achievement): benefits linked to work performance and social insurance contributions.

What is public policy, and what three features characterise it?

A course of action, or inaction, adopted by government to address a public problem. It is purposive, made by legitimate authority, and backed by the state's authority to implement it.

What does Mill's Harm Principle say?

The only legitimate reason to restrict a person's liberty is to prevent harm to others, not to themselves. So it rules out restricting someone's liberty purely for their own protection, which is paternalism.

Distinguish the rational comprehensive, incremental and mixed scanning theories of decision making.

Rational comprehensive: identify all options, weigh their consequences fully and choose the objectively best one. The ideal, rarely achieved. Incremental: make only small adjustments to existing policy, given limits on time, information and consensus. The realistic default. Mixed scanning: broad, less detailed scanning for major decisions and detailed incremental analysis for smaller ones. The deliberate compromise.

What form of rule did Plato argue for?