Political Theory                                                                        January 2003

Major Field Examination

Part II

 

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer one question from each of the following three groups.  Please identify clearly each question answered, and avoid repetition between answers.

Write out and sign (by number) the pledge on the first page of your answer sheets. 

Please attempt to write legibly, if you do not type.  Use blue or black ink, and please skip lines.

 

 

I

 

1. We can lay to rest the so-called  liberal-communitarian debate because it is now understood that most liberals have been or are communitarian and most communitarians liberal. Discuss.

 

2. It is often said that theorists exaggerate the gap between anglo-american and continental political theories.  Discuss.

 

II

 

3. What is living and what is dead in Marxian theory, as it bears on contemporary political theory?

 

4. Rawls, Arendt and Habermas all emphasize in some way the role of deliberation and/or debate in democratic decision-making.  Compare and contrast the views of at least two of these thinkers on this topic.

 

III

 

5. Although J. S. Mill is a towering figure in both the utilitarian and liberal traditions, theorists assert that utilitarianism and liberalism are fundamentally incompatible.  Assess the compatibility of utilitarianism and liberalism, with reference to Mill and at least two other thinkers.

 

5. Both Nietzsche and Hegel are interested in "history" in a way that earlier political theory is not.  To what extent do they share a common approach to history and to what extent do they differ?