📘 Additional Essay-Based Questions and

Answers (with Comparative Study)

🧠 Q1: Compare and contrast Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on the ideal
✔️ Answer:
state.​

●​ Plato:​

○​ Believed in an ideal or "utopian" state ruled by philosopher-kings.​

○​ The structure of the state mirrors the structure of the soul: reason (rulers),
spirit (auxiliaries), and appetite (producers).​

○​ Justice occurs when each class performs its role without interfering with
others.​

○​ Education and moral excellence are essential for rulers to understand the
Forms (especially the Form of the Good).​

○​ Anti-democratic: Believed democracy leads to mob rule and eventually

tyranny.​

●​ Aristotle:​

○​ Rejected Plato’s idealism; focused on practical, observable states.​

○​ State is a natural institution arising from family and village, aiming at the good
life (eudaimonia).​

○​ Advocated a constitutional government (polity) governed by the middle class.​

○​ Justice means equality, but proportionate to merit—supports distributive

justice.​

○​ More tolerant of democracy if balanced by laws and a stable middle class.​

🔍 Comparison:
●​ Plato emphasizes theoretical perfection; Aristotle prefers practical governance.​
 ●​ Plato uses metaphysical forms; Aristotle uses empirical observation.​

●​ Both prioritize justice and education, but differ in method and implementation.​

🧠 Q2: What is the role of power in politics according to Michel

Foucault? How does it contrast with traditional thinkers like Plato and

✔️
Aristotle?​
Answer:

●​ Foucault:​

○​ Power is not merely top-down (like king → subjects); it is diffused and

everywhere.​

○​ Power exists in institutions (schools, prisons, hospitals) through surveillance

and normalization.​

○​ Introduced the concepts of "biopolitics" (management of populations) and

"disciplinary power."​

○​ Believes knowledge and power are intertwined (“power/knowledge”).​

○​ Freedom is not the absence of power but the ability to resist and challenge it.​

●​ Traditional Thinkers (Plato and Aristotle):​

○​ Power is located in state institutions and held by certain classes or rulers.​

○​ Plato: Power must be in the hands of the wise (philosopher-kings); misused

power leads to tyranny.​

○​ Aristotle: Power should serve the common good; best wielded by those
governed by reason and virtue.​

○​ Both saw power as legitimate if exercised by the just or virtuous.​

🔍 Comparison:
●​ Foucault challenges the idea of centralized power; sees it as embedded in all
relationships.​

●​ Plato/Aristotle view power as legitimate and necessary for justice and order.​
 ●​ Foucault is more skeptical; power often masks itself as truth or morality.​

🧠 Q3: How do Rawls and Sandel differ in their understanding of

✔️ Answer:
justice?​

●​ Rawls:​

○​ Justice as fairness: Principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of

ignorance.​

○​ Two key principles:​

1.​ Equal basic liberties.​

2.​ Inequalities must benefit the least advantaged (Difference Principle).​

○​ Neutral toward conceptions of the good life; supports procedural liberalism.​

○​ Focused on institutional justice, not personal virtue.​

●​ Sandel:​

○​ Critiques Rawls for being too abstract and detached from moral values.​

○​ Justice is not only about fair procedures but also about cultivating virtue and
promoting the common good.​

○​ Supports a communitarian approach—context and history matter in moral

reasoning.​

○​ Emphasizes civic engagement and responsibility to others.​

🔍 Comparison:
●​ Rawls: Deontological, procedural, individual-focused.​

●​ Sandel: Teleological, value-based, community-focused.​

●​ Rawls avoids moral judgments in politics; Sandel insists on moral reasoning in public
life.​
🧠 Q4: How are freedom and equality interrelated in political theory?
✔️ Answer:
Compare liberal and critical perspectives.​

●​ Liberal Perspective:​

○​ Freedom (negative liberty) = freedom from interference (Isaiah Berlin).​

○​ Equality = legal and formal equality (equal rights under law).​

○​ Tension: Excessive focus on freedom can lead to inequality; too much

equality can threaten individual liberty.​

●​ Critical Perspective (Rawls, Foucault, Sandel):​

○​ Rawls: Supports redistributive policies to ensure real opportunities for all

(positive liberty).​

○​ Foucault: Freedom involves resisting institutional norms that shape our

identities.​

○​ Sandel: Real freedom and equality come from civic engagement and shared
values.​

○​ Emphasize that social context and power relations impact both freedom and
equality.​

🔍 Comparison:
●​ Liberalism sees freedom and equality as separate values to balance.​

●​ Critical theorists argue they are intertwined; true freedom is impossible without
substantive equality.​

●​ Freedom is not only about rights but also about capabilities and dignity.​
🧠 Q5: What are the philosophical justifications for democracy? Critically
✔️ Answer:
examine using views from Plato, Aristotle, and contemporary theorists.​

●​ Plato:​

○​ Anti-democratic: Saw democracy as rule by the uninformed masses.​

○​ Believed it leads to chaos, as people pursue desires rather than the good.​

○​ Advocated rule by the wise, not by all.​

●​ Aristotle:​

○​ More accepting: Saw democracy as a deviant form but acknowledged polity

(a mix of democracy and oligarchy) as stable.​

○​ Valued participation but emphasized rule of law and virtue.​

●​ Contemporary Theorists:​

○​ Rawls: Democracy is justified if institutions are just and fair to all.​

○​ Sandel: Democracy should promote civic virtue and deliberation on the

common good.​

○​ Foucault: Warns against democratic institutions becoming mechanisms of

control; calls for constant critique and resistance.​

🔍 Comparison:
●​ Ancient: Skeptical or cautious about democracy (Plato especially).​

●​ Modern: Embrace democracy but with qualifications—deliberation, equality, and

critical engagement are key.​

●​ Democracy is not just a procedure but a moral and cultural practice.