Review

Discuss this question. 300 – 400 WORDS4

1. Karl Marx’s understanding of political philosophy is informed by an analysis of human history. In what way does he use history to reach conclusions about the way human societies have typically been set up, and also about how they ought ideally to be set up? In your answer be sure to discuss his biological emphasis, his political economy emphasis, and his assessment of the worldviews of virtually all human beings prior to his own era.

2. John Howard Yoder thinks that the New Testament offers a coherent political philosophy. He cites Jesus of Nazareth in particular and finds several key political ideas in Jesus’s teachings. Develop a brief summary of some of the political themes that Yoder thinks are present in the New Testament. Be as specific as possible. Then talk about whether you agree or disagree with Yoder’s understanding of the New Testament and/or Christian political philosophy. Are there other ways of understanding the New Testament or is Yoder’s interpretation, correct?

3. John Rawls, famously think that social and economic inequalities ought to be to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society. His “difference principle” has often been criticized for the infringements on personal liberty that it (apparently) justifies. When Rawls says that persons behind the “veil of ignorance” would privilege the least advantaged because they would not know what their own social status would be is he stacking the deck” toward his own progressive social views, over and against more conservative thinkers who would privilege values like free enterprise, personal choice, and self-reliance? Or are his assertions about favoritism for the least advantaged simply the most just way of distributing social resources? Write essay supporting or opposing Rawls view here.