Political Theory Test

Envy Test - The theory that the division of resources is actually equal if and only if one person does not prefer someone else 's portion of the wealth to his own . That means that if everyone in society is ahppy with what they have as compared to what everyone else has then the society passes the envy test . This has never happened and seems contrary to human nature . The further fallacy is that it could ever be achieved in that some people are born with innate talents that cannot be changed to give

them fewer resources

Unremunerated rights - Proponents of this political theory argue that the Bill of Rights was not intended as a list of all the rights a person should be guaranteed under the Constitution . They argue that rights not listed , for instance the right to privacy , still exist . This theory was first put forth by the Warren Court in arguing that people had a right to privacy . It is also frequently used in the abortion rights debate as a justification for a woman 's right to control her own body

Politics of recognition - this is the political theory that argues we can only achieve enlightenment and equality when we recognize that people are not homogenous and acknowledge the inherent differences among people . This is almost the exact opposite of politics of equality which claim that all people have the same basic needs , wants and desires and should be treated all the same

Civic engagement - is the term used to define a person 's involvement in the social and political causes of the world around them . In psychology it used primarily to describe how involved a person is in social causes - volunteering at a soup kitchen , etc . In political science terms , it is used to define how involved a person is in the participatory aspects of government - do they just vote , take an active role in campaigns support certain candidates , etc

Black consciousness---primarily used in relation to South African politics , this is the theory than being black is more than a skin color and represents the way the minority chooses to act toward itself and toward others . The movement argues that blacks in South Africa exploit each other more than whites exploit each other and that part of the problem is a culturally defined set of values and attributes that they have accepted about themselves . The movement calls for blacks to band together to change the way they treat themselves and to change the way they are treated by the remainder of society

Veil of ignorance - this is the theory that citizens are deliberately kept in the dark about the actual effects of certain legislation . In 1971 , philosopher John Rawls argued that social justice requires that people be blind to the way something will impact them in particular and look instead to how it affects society as whole . In recent years , the argument has been made the special interest groups have lifted the veil of ignorance making...