Philosophy · Unit 16

Political Philosophy

Justice, the social contract, rights and liberty

Political philosophy asks what could possibly justify some people having authority over others, and none of the answers is comfortable.

The unit covers justice, the social contract, rights, liberty, and the state and its authority.

This unit breaks down into 24 short steps and 129 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 24
Questions: 129
Difficulty: 1-5

What this unit covers

Justice
The Social Contract
Rights
Liberty
The State and Authority

Where this fits

Needs Ethics. Connects to Law and Citizenship's Jurisprudence.

Where people slip

The social contract is a justification, not a historical claim. No one thinks it was signed; the argument is about what a legitimate state would have to be able to justify.

How the unit is structured

Political Philosophy runs as 24 short steps that unlock in order. 18 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 24 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 129 in the unit altogether.

Justice

Fill the blankLevel 1
1. Treating people fairly and giving each their due is the idea of ____.
- justicecorrect
- gravity
- weather
- music
Justice is the idea of fairness and giving each person what they are owed.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
2. In political philosophy, justice is often described as giving each person what?
- What they are duecorrect
- Whatever they ask for
- As little as possible
- Only what leaders want
A classic idea of justice is giving each person their due, what they fairly deserve.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
3. Which of these are examples of being fair? Select all that apply.
- Sharing equally when everyone helpedcorrect
- Giving everyone a turncorrect
- Following the same rules for allcorrect
- Keeping all the rewards for yourself
Fairness means using the same rules for everyone and giving people equal turns.
Guess the numberLevel 2
4. In The Republic, Plato divides the human soul into how many parts?
Answer: 3 parts
Plato split the soul into three parts: reason, spirit, and appetite.
Match the pairsLevel 2
5. Match each justice idea with its meaning.
Answer: Distributive justice = Fair sharing of benefits; Retributive justice = Fair punishment for wrongs; Plato = Wrote The Republic
Distributive justice shares fairly, retributive justice punishes fairly, and Plato wrote The Republic.
Odd one outLevel 2
6. Which of these is NOT part of the idea of justice?
- Painting a picturecorrect
- Fairness
- Giving each their due
- Treating like cases alike
Fairness, giving each their due, and treating like cases alike are all about justice, but painting a picture is not.

Liberty

Fill the blankLevel 1
7. Liberty is another word for ____.
- freedomcorrect
- hunger
- silence
- gravity
Liberty simply means freedom.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
8. In politics, the word 'liberty' means the same as which of these?
- Freedomcorrect
- Money
- Sleep
- Homework
Liberty is another word for freedom.
True or falseLevel 1
9. Liberty means being free to make your own choices.
Answer: True
Liberty is about being free to choose and act for yourself.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
10. Which of these are examples of personal liberty (freedom)? Select all that apply.
- Freedom to speak your mindcorrect
- Freedom to choose your religioncorrect
- Freedom to choose your friendscorrect
- Being told exactly what to think
Speaking your mind, choosing your religion, and choosing your friends are all personal freedoms.
Odd one outLevel 2
11. Which of these is NOT an example of a personal liberty?
- Being forced to obeycorrect
- Choosing what to read
- Speaking your opinion
- Choosing your friends
Choosing what to read, speaking freely, and picking your friends are freedoms, but being forced to obey is not.
Sort into groupsLevel 2
12. Sort each item as a personal Freedom or a Rule you must follow.
Answer: Choosing your own hobby = Freedom; Speaking your opinion = Freedom; Driving on the correct side = Rule; Paying your taxes = Rule
Choosing hobbies or speaking freely are freedoms, while driving safely or paying taxes are rules.

Rights

Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. Which of these is commonly described as a basic human right?
- The right to lifecorrect
- The right to win every game
- The right to never feel sad
- The right to fly like a bird
The right to life is one of the most basic human rights.
True or falseLevel 1
14. A right is something a person is entitled to, such as being treated fairly.
Answer: True
A right is a freedom or entitlement a person can rightly claim, like fair treatment.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
15. Which of these are often listed as basic human rights? Select all that apply.
- The right to lifecorrect
- The right to be treated fairlycorrect
- The right to an educationcorrect
- The right to always win
- The right to never be corrected
The right to life, to be treated fairly, and to an education are widely recognized human rights.
Fill the blankLevel 2
16. Rights you are said to have simply because you are a person are called ____ rights.
- humancorrect
- plastic
- weekend
- silent
Human rights are the rights people are said to have just for being human.
Type the answerLevel 2
17. What single word means a freedom or entitlement a person can claim, such as free speech?
Answer: right
A right is a freedom or entitlement a person can claim, like the right to free speech.
Sort into groupsLevel 3
18. Sort each right as a Negative right (freedom from) or a Positive right (entitlement to).
Answer: Freedom to speak = Negative; Freedom from torture = Negative; A right to education = Positive; A right to health care = Positive
Negative rights ask others to leave you alone, while positive rights ask that something be provided.

The Social Contract

Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. The 'social contract' is the idea that people agree to live together under a shared what?
- Set of rules and governmentcorrect
- Sports team
- Weather pattern
- Favorite song
The social contract is an agreement to live under shared rules and a government.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
20. Which thinkers are famous for writing about the social contract? Select all that apply.
- Thomas Hobbescorrect
- John Lockecorrect
- Jean-Jacques Rousseaucorrect
- Isaac Newton
- Euclid
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau are the three most famous social contract philosophers.
Fill the blankLevel 2
21. Hobbes called imagined life without any government the 'state of ____.'
- naturecorrect
- art
- mind
- grace
Hobbes said the 'state of nature,' with no government, would be dangerous and full of conflict.
Odd one outLevel 2
22. Which of these thinkers is NOT usually listed among the classic social contract philosophers?
- Isaac Newtoncorrect
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau are social contract thinkers, but Isaac Newton was a scientist.
Match the pairsLevel 3
23. Match each social contract thinker with a key idea they are known for.
Answer: Hobbes = Strong sovereign for security; Locke = Government by consent; Rousseau = The general will
Hobbes wanted a strong sovereign, Locke stressed government by consent, and Rousseau the general will.
Guess the numberLevel 4
24. In roughly what year did Thomas Hobbes publish Leviathan?
Answer: 1651
Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651, during the upheaval of the English Civil War era.

The State and Authority

Multiple choiceLevel 1
25. In political philosophy, the 'state' usually means which of these?
- The government of a countrycorrect
- A feeling of calm
- A type of weather
- A kind of board game
The state is the organized government of a country or community.
Fill the blankLevel 2
26. When people accept that a government has the right to rule, we say it has ____.
- legitimacycorrect
- gravity
- luck
- color
Legitimacy is when a government's right to rule is accepted as proper.
Match the pairsLevel 2
27. Match each thinker with the famous book they wrote.
Answer: Plato = The Republic; Thomas Hobbes = Leviathan; John Stuart Mill = On Liberty
Plato wrote The Republic, Hobbes wrote Leviathan, and Mill wrote On Liberty.
Odd one outLevel 2
28. Which of these is NOT a reason people usually give for a government's legitimacy?
- A leader's favorite colorcorrect
- Consent of the governed
- Fair elections
- The rule of law
Consent, fair elections, and the rule of law support legitimacy, but a leader's favorite color does not.
Put in orderLevel 3
29. Put these political thinkers in order, from earliest to latest by birth.
Answer: Plato -> Thomas Hobbes -> John Rawls
Plato lived in ancient Greece, Hobbes in the 1500s to 1600s, and Rawls in the 1900s.
Choose all that applyLevel 4
30. Which of these have philosophers proposed as sources of political legitimacy? Select all that apply.
- Consent of the governedcorrect
- Traditioncorrect
- Fair procedures and the rule of lawcorrect
- A leader's height
Consent, tradition, and fair procedures under the rule of law are all proposed grounds for legitimacy.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Choose all that apply
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Put in order
Sort into groups
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Political Philosophy

129 questions across 24 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about Political Philosophy

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

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