UGS 303 Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 1 23 Essay Prompts 1 Freedom has two aspects the absence of tyranny negative and the provision of opportunities positive Can negative and positive freedom coexist in a society In your essay first define your terms clearly and then draw on what you know of the Athenian example to illustrate your thesis Consider the example we were given at the beginning of the year the government wants to build a highway through a man s farm Does his freedom from such an invasion outweigh other people s freedom to have a convenient mode of travel There are many other examples of such a problem that you could consider when deciding whether or not conflicting freedoms can coexist For incorporating the Athenian example consider the following aspects of Athenian democracy Does Athens freedom to be ruled by experts outweigh its people s right to participate in government How does the Athenians freedom from majority tyranny conflict with their freedom to vote The decision to execute Socrates was made by the Athenian majority Did Socrates right to life conflict with the right to majority rule Athenian citizens could vote to ostracize any citizen whom they deemed harmful to the city Is this tyranny Think about the conflict between the citizen s right to stay in his homeland and the general population s right to be free from poisonous people Athenians owned slaves How did the slaves rights to be free conflict with the Athenians rights to own slaves 2 What are the main criticisms of democracy Have defenders of democracy given adequate answers to them In your essay define democracy consider at least two criticisms and illustrate your points with examples from both Athenian and modern history One criticism is that the majority is too easily swayed by good orators How dangerous do you think this is Think of modern politicians who are great speakers and can rile up a crowd without even saying anything substantial Another criticism is that the majority is uneducated and tends to make bad decisions Government is best run by experts Review Plato s education argument As a defender of democracy you might answer that the citizens of a nation no matter how uneducated they may be are the only ones who really know what it s like to live in that nation They know what it needs more than anyone else Thucydides says that in a democracy generals are scared of their people He uses Nicias as an example This fear came true Nicias was punished for his failures You might argue that this is a fair price to pay for the freedoms that democracy brings Perhaps you can even argue that Nicias deserved punishment John Adams believed that if majority rules the poor will abolish debt and divide the property of the rich among themselves Because of this he believes that only property holders the top 10 20 of rich should vote because they are the only ones with a real stake in the nation Defenders of democracy would argue that if only the richest can vote they will oppress the poor and we will return to a sort of aristocracy 3 You told me in your first papers that tyrants are unjust and leaders are just In the same papers very often you wrote that leaders are compassionate while tyrants are merciless Yet compassion seems to undermine justice as Angelo says in Measure for Measure Creon pleads that justice forbids him to show compassion for his niece when she has broken the law Dionysus shows not a whit of compassion for his own family when he sets out to destroy them in return for what they did to him and his mother Angelo was given power with a mandate to enforce the law equally on all Considering these examples do you think that a leader can be both just and compassionate Define your terms use examples from the reading and make as clear a case as you can Consider how Creon s lack of compassion led to his downfall If he had chosen to be both just and compassionate things would have ended much better not only for himself but for every character in Antigone Mercy is only unjust when it gives some an unfair advantage over others Perhaps compassion can be just if it is applied equally to all citizens Consider the duke in Measure for Measure He decides to let Angelo live despite his crimes Did he not end up being a more just figure than Angelo himself who refused to show compassion Perhaps it is best to use compassion in writing the laws and then apply those laws equally to all In this way a ruler can be both just and compassionate 4 Democracy most experts agree requires the rule of law What are the essential features of the rule of law Consider one of the following objections to the rule of law You may support the objection or supply a counterargument Essential features Is universal can t be bought Is known or knowable no secret laws Is legitimate made by legitimate authority Is respected what good is a law no one obeys a The law is often unjust as in the case of Jim Crow laws and even more often it is stupid Part of the trouble is that laws are universal whereas each case is different We would do wrong to subject people to the rule of an institution that is often unjust and stupid You could argue that unjust laws are not even a legitimate part of the rule of law because they violate the fourth essential feature of a law You could also argue that even unjust laws should be obeyed out of respect for the rule of law itself Without the rule of law we would be in a state of anarchy Therefore all laws should be respected If people find a law unjust they should protest it peacefully until it is changed b The rule of law is empty verbiage People make laws and people change them So the rule of law is just a screen for rule by the people who make laws You may argue that it s good that the rule of law can be changed This way we are never stuck with an unjust law forever Perhaps laws need to evolve with the times In a democracy the people who make the laws are elected by the citizens So the people who make the laws are the people themselves The changing laws reflect the changing opinions of society 5 What is the best way to give power to the people through creating representative bodies Evaluate at least two voting systems compare the best of these with sortition and offer your recommendation Base your answer on argument and evidence considering both the Athenian experience and recent experience in any modern state such as Germany the UK Canada Japan or India Sortition the Athenian practice of selecting political