CSS Political Science-I MCQs - 2013

Despotism refers to absolute rule by one person, unchecked by laws or institutions. Unlike monarchy, which can be lawful, despotism is arbitrary and oppressive. Historical examples include the rule of Eastern despots or absolute monarchs before constitutional limits were introduced.

The term “elite” originated in France (from élite, meaning “chosen” or “select”) and was later developed by German and Italian sociologists such as Vilfredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca. They used it to describe a small ruling class that holds the most power, wealth, and influence. The concept later spread to English-speaking countries.

Leviathan (1651) was written by Thomas Hobbes, one of the founders of modern political philosophy. The book argues that in the state of nature, humans live in chaos and fear ("solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"). To escape this, individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering their freedoms to a powerful sovereign or ruler — symbolized by the “Leviathan” — who maintains peace and order. Hobbes’s theory justifies absolute authority as necessary for civil stability.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) served the Florentine Republic and advocated for civic virtue and active citizenship. While The Prince seems to favor autocracy, his Discourses on Livy defends republican government as more stable and participatory. Hence, he is fundamentally a republican realist.

Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) graduated with a B.A. in 1897 and M.A. in 1899 from Government College, Lahore. He later studied at Cambridge University (1906) and obtained his Ph.D. from Munich University (1907). The given years (1885, 1887, 1889) do not correspond to his graduation year, making “None of these” correct.

Al-Farabi’s intellectual legacy lies primarily in political philosophy and logic. He translated and commented on Greek political works, particularly Aristotle’s and Plato’s. His most famous book, “Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila” (The Virtuous City), describes the ideal state ruled by virtue and reason — an idea inspired by Plato’s Republic. His writings bridged classical Greek thought and Islamic governance models.

The term ‘Asabiyyah’, introduced by Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), is an Arabic concept meaning group solidarity, social cohesion, or tribal loyalty. In his masterpiece Muqaddimah (Introduction to History), Ibn Khaldun argued that Asabiyyah is the driving force behind the rise and fall of civilizations — strong social cohesion leads to the rise of empires, while its decay causes decline. It’s a foundational concept in sociology and political theory.

Karl Marx (1818–1883) argued that economic structures determine political and social life — an idea known as historical materialism. According to Marx, the struggle between social classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat) arises from unequal control over economic resources. These conflicts drive revolutions and shape history. His famous works, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto, interpret history through the lens of economic determinism.

These regimes represent totalitarianism, a system where the state seeks total control over public and private life, led by a single party and leader, with censorship, propaganda, and terror. Both left-wing (Stalin’s USSR) and right-wing (Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy) regimes shared total control mechanisms.

Jean Bodin (1530–1596), a French jurist and political philosopher, introduced the concept of sovereignty in his book “Les Six Livres de la République” (The Six Books of the Republic). He defined sovereignty as absolute and perpetual power vested in the state, independent of any external authority. His theory became foundational for later thinkers like Hobbes and Rousseau in defining the modern state.

Allama Iqbal’s book “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam” (1930) is a collection of seven lectures delivered in India. It reinterprets Islamic philosophy using modern thought, science, and metaphysics, and calls for intellectual renewal (Ijtihad) in Muslim societies.

The key difference between parliamentary and presidential systems lies in the relationship between the legislature and executive:

• In a parliamentary system, the executive (Prime Minister and cabinet) is drawn from and accountable to the legislature.

• In a presidential system, the executive (President) is independent of the legislature.

In Politics, Aristotle classifies governments into good and bad forms:

• Monarchy → Tyranny (corrupt form of rule by one)

• Aristocracy → Oligarchy (corrupt rule by few)

• Polity → Democracy (corrupt rule by many)
  Thus, tyranny is the perverted form of monarchy, where the ruler governs for personal interest instead of the common good.

Individualism emphasizes personal freedom and autonomy over collective control. Some extreme forms of individualism view law as a restriction on liberty, as laws impose limits on personal behavior. Liberalism, in contrast, balances liberty with law for social order. Hence, individualism best expresses the view that law and liberty are in opposition.

A confederation is a loose alliance of independent states that unite for common purposes (like defense or trade) while retaining full sovereignty. Examples include the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation (1777–1789) and the European Union to some extent.

Al-Farabi (872–950 CE), a Muslim philosopher, is often referred to as the “Second Teacher” (after Aristotle, the First Teacher). He preserved, commented on, and expanded Aristotle’s works on logic, metaphysics, and political philosophy. Al-Farabi also harmonized Aristotle’s philosophy with Islamic thought, deeply influencing later scholars like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes). His works made Aristotle’s philosophy accessible to the Islamic and later European world.

In a unitary state, all powers are centralized in the national government. Such constitutions can be unwritten and flexible, allowing easy amendment by parliamentary acts — the United Kingdom is a prime example. In contrast, federal constitutions (like that of the U.S.) are written and rigid.

Imam Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) was one of Islam’s greatest theologians and philosophers. He was appointed as a professor of theology at the prestigious Nizamiyya College in Baghdad. His teachings focused on Islamic theology (Ilm al-Kalam), jurisprudence, and mysticism (Sufism). His famous works, such as Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of Religious Sciences), sought to reconcile reason and revelation, influencing both Islamic and Western thought.

John Austin (1790–1859), an English legal philosopher, formulated the command theory of law in his work The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832). According to him, law is a command issued by a sovereign, backed by sanctions. This became the basis of legal positivism, separating law from morality.

The Spirit of the Laws (1748) is the masterpiece of Charles de Montesquieu, a French political philosopher. In this book, he analyzed various forms of government and famously introduced the concept of the separation of powers among the legislature, executive, and judiciary. This idea became one of the cornerstones of modern democratic constitutions, influencing the American and French systems. The book emphasizes that political liberty depends on preventing the concentration of power in one authority.