Consider the statement A “The price of housing in Brussels amounts to about 6000 euros per squaremeter” and the statement B “Housing prices should be regulated in large towns”
Both statements A and B are judgements of value
Statement A is a judgement of value, and statement B is a judgement of fact
Statement A is a judgement of fact, and statement B is a judgement of value
Both statements A and B are judgements of fact
Consider the statement A “It is not fair that nurses are so badly paid” and the statement B “The State should increase the minimum wage”.
The statement “In order to increase fiscal revenues, the State should increase the tax rate on wealth” is:
A judgement of fact taking the form of a hypothetical imperative
A judgement of fact not taking the form of a hypothetical imperative
A judgement of value taking the form of a categorical imperative
A judgement of value not taking the form of a categorical imperative
The statement “it is not fair that 90 % of the price of that dress goes to intermediaries and not to the producer” is:
A judgement of fact that expresses objective features of the situation
A judgement of fact that can be corroborated by empirical material
A judgement of value that expresses an ethical view about the value of the dress
A judgement of value that expresses an ethical view about how sales revenues should be distributed
The statement “you should treat other persons always as an end and not as a means” is:
A cake is to be divided between Sally and Harry, who have the same preferences (same utility function) and both regard the cake as a desirable good. Under utilitarianism, the optimal allocation of cake involves equal distribution of cake for Sally and Harry:
Because utilitarianism recommends to equalize utility levels across individuals
Because utilitarianism recommends to maximize the sum of individual utilities
Because utilitarianism recommends to maximize the utility level of the worst-off individual
. Because utilitarianism always recommends an equal distribution of resources
Consider the following ranking of alternative situations A, B and C for two persons Albert and Lucie: Albert: A > B > C and Lucie: B > A > C (where > denotes strict preference).
Situations A, B and C are Pareto-optimal
Situations A and B are Pareto-optimal, but not situation C
Situations A, B and C are not Pareto-optimal
None of those answers
From a utilitarian perspective, a tax on wealth:
a. Is not justified, since it goes against property rights
b. Is justified, because wealth accumulation is related to labor exploitation
c. Is justified or not, depending on its consequences on social welfare
d. Is justified or not, depending on its consequences on the satisfaction of needs of the poor
Suppose that a resource is to be divided among a population. Dependent elderly persons have, ceteris paribus, a lower marginal utility of consumption than healthy adults. Hence, from a utilitarian perspective,
a. It is fair that dependent elderly persons consume more resources than healthy adults
b. It is fair that dependent elderly persons consume the same amount of resources as healthy adults
c. It is fair that dependent elderly persons consume less resources than healthy adults
d. None of those answers
Consider a population composed of N normal individuals, and one single utility monster (i.e. an individual who has an infinitely high marginal utility of money). In a utilitarian society:
a. It is fair that all the resource goes to the utility monster and the N normal individuals obtain no resource
b. It is fair that all individuals obtain the same fraction 1/(N+1) of the resource
c. It is fair that the resource is divided in such a way as to equalize utility levels within the population
From a libertarian perspective, the taxation of income is regarded as:
a. A tool for the achievement of equality
b. An equivalent to forced labor
c. A tool favoring social welfare maximization
d. An equivalent to human alienation
From a libertarian perspective, existing wage inequalities are:
a. Regarded as unfair provided social welfare is not maximized
b. Regarded as unfair provided these are due to the exploitation of labor
c. Regarded as fair provided they result from voluntary transactions
d. Regarded as fair provided they do not result from unequal labor efforts
A monopoly charges large prices on the good sold on the market, against the interests of consumers. Such a situation is:
Such a situation is: a. Unfair from a utilitarian perspective and unfair from a libertarian perspective
b. Unfair from a utilitarian perspective and fair from a libertarian perspective
c. Fair from a utilitarian perspective and unfair from a libertarian perspective
d. Fair from a utilitarian perspective and fair from a libertarian perspective
Tom purchased a car from Sally, while ignoring that Sally had stolen the car from Bob. From a libertarian perspective, the legitimate owner of the car is:
a. Tom
b. Sally
c. Bob
d. We do not know
Marcel is extremely poor, and has a toothache that may degenerate into a serious disease if there is no dental treatment. Marcel asks for some money to his friend John. John does not help him, and prefers to keep his money for his collection of palmistry books. From a libertarian perspective,
a. That situation is unfair, since Marcel’s needs should get priority over John’s collection of palmistry books
b. That situation is unfair, since a transfer of money from John to Marcel woulddefinitely increase the sum of their utility levels
c. That situation is unfair, since there is a violation of Marcel’s right to self-ownership
d. That situation is fair
A poor unemployed person is:
a. Exploited in Marx’s sense and exploited in Roemer’s sense
b. Not exploited in Marx’s sense and exploited in Roemer’s sense
c. Not exploited in Marx’s sense and not exploited in Roemer’s sense
d. Exploited in Marx’s sense and not exploited in Roemer’s sense
According to Marx, it is necessary to nationalize the means of production
a. In order to improve satisfaction at work and well-being
b. In order to abolish the alienation of labor
c. In order to abolish the exploitation of labor
d. In order to abolish both the alienation and the exploitation of labor
From a Marxist perspective, the principle of economic democracy (one worker, onevote) is:
a. Necessary and sufficient to achieve a fair society
b. Necessary but not sufficient to achieve a fair society
c. Not necessary, but sufficient to achieve a fair society
d. Neither necessary, nor sufficient to achieve a fair society
A reduction of working time (with constant total labor earning, i.e. with a rise inhourly wage):
a. Allows to reduce extra labor and exploitation
b. Allows to reduce extra labor but not necessarily exploitation
c. Allows to reduce exploitation but not necessarily extra labor
d. Allows to reduce neither extra labor, nor exploitation
Max lives in a very poor household with 5 children. To help him, his neighbor, John, proposes Max to work 15 hours a day in his house, for a wage of 1 euro per hour (i.e. 15 euros a day). Max accepts this proposition and works for John. That situation is:
a. Unfair from a libertarian perspective and unfair from a Marxist perspective
b. Unfair from a libertarian perspective and fair from a Marxist perspective
c. Fair from a libertarian perspective and unfair from a Marxist perspective
d. Fair from a libertarian perspective and fair from a Marxist perspective
Based on John Rawls’s Theory of Justice,
a.It is fair to limit the fundamental liberties of rich individuals for the sake ofmaking the most disadvantaged better off.
b.It is not fair to limit the fundamental liberties of rich individuals for the sake of making the most disadvantaged better off.
c. It is fair to limit the fundamental liberties of rich individuals for the sake ofreducing welfare inequalities between the rich and the most disadvantaged.
d.None of the other answers.
Based on John Rawls’s Theory of Justice, primary goods include, among other things:
a. Fundamental liberties, income, wealth and happiness.
b.Health, income, wealth and happiness.
c. Fundamental liberties, health, income and wealth.
d.Health, income, wealth and social recognition.
According to Rawls’s Theory of Justice, income inequalities are:
a.Not fair.
b.Fair only if they favor economic growth.
c. Fair only if they favor social stability.
d.Fair only if they are beneficial to the most disadvantaged person.
In a pure market economy, individuals have:
a.Equal endowments in natural and social primary goods.
b.Equal endowments in natural primary goods, but unequal endowments insocial primary goods.
c. Unequal endowments in natural primary goods, but equal endowments insocial primary goods.
d.Unequal endowments in natural and social primary goods.
Under the veil of ignorance, individuals:
a.Make abstraction of their social status and preferences, but do not ignoretheir skills.
b.Make abstraction of their preferences and skills, but do not ignore their socialstatus.
c. Make abstraction of their social status and skills, but do not ignore theirpreferences.
d.Make abstraction of their social status, their preferences and their skills.
According to Sen, a functioning is:
a.A being or a doing that an individual can achieve
b.A being or a doing that an individual values
c. A being or a doing that an individual values and can achieve
d.A being or a doing that make an individual happy
According to Sen, having a large capability set is:
a.Equivalent to having access to a large level of material resources
b.Equivalent to being able to achieve a high level of happiness
c. Equivalent to being able to realize various things in life
d.All those answers
Under Sen’s capability approach,
a.Capabilities of all individuals should be equalized
b.Capabilities of the most disadvantaged individuals should be maximized
c. There should be equal basic capabilities for all individuals
d.None of those answers
Being well-nourished is:
a.A fundamental right for Nozick and for Rawls, as well as a functioning for Sen.
b.A fundamental right for Rawls but not for Nozick, as well as a functioning forSen.
c. A fundamental right for Rawls but not for Nozick, but not a functioning for Sen.
d.A fundamental right neither for Rawls nor for Nozick, but a functioning for Sen.
Rawls’s approach to justice and Sen’s approach to justice:
a.Are liberal theories of justice
b.Are non-welfarist theories of justice
c. Try to combine ideals of equality and liberty
All those answers
According to communitarianism, social goods must be distributed in the society:
a. In such a way as to maximize the sum of individual utilities
b. In such a way as to satisfy the needs of the most disadvantaged persons
c. On the basis of the shared understanding and valuation of those social goods by members of the society
The communitarian criticism of Rawls’s original position states that:
a. Since individuals under the veil of ignorance deliberately abstract from their values, the chosen principles of justice lead to a minimalistic Welfare State
b. Since individuals under the veil of ignorance deliberately abstract from their social position, the chosen principles of justice lead to a Welfare State that redistributes incomes too much
c. Since individuals under the veil of ignorance deliberately abstract from their preferences, the chosen principles of justice lead to a Welfare State that is unable to maximize social welfare
d. Since individuals under the veil of ignorance deliberately abstract from their skills, the chosen principles of justice lead to a Welfare State that is unable to induce the right division of labor
The following ethical doctrines are teleological:
a. Utilitarianism, Rawls’s Theory of Justice
b. Rawls’s Theory of Justice, Communitarianism
c. Utilitarianism, Communitarianism
d. None of the answers
According to Walzer (1983), a predominant good is:
a. A good that gives access to all other goods
b. A good that allows to achieve the highest happiness
c. A good that is necessary to achieve one’s conception of the good life,whatever it is
d. A good that cannot be exchanged on the market
According to Walzer (1983), social justice requires:
a. To redistribute the predominant good equally in the population
b. To make the allocation of all goods autonomous
c. To modify the predominant good
d. To let individuals exchange all goods on free markets
According to Radcliffe-Richards, the traditional argument for separate spheres formen and women is logically flawed because:
a. The premise that men and women are different is false
b. The conclusion that men and women should occupy different spheres is imprecise
c. A convincing normative premise is missing in the argument
According to Davis, domestic labor is:
a. A source of alienation that can be abolished by means of a domestic wage
b. A source of alienation that can be abolished by means of abolishing private property
c. A source of alienation that can be abolished by means of nationalizing domestic tasks
According to Tronto,
a. The care is restricted to activities of raising children and taking care of the dependent elderly
b. The care includes all activities through which individuals maintain and reproduce the world in which they live
c. The care includes all activities through which individuals pursue their desires
d. The care includes all activities through which individuals express the values to which they adhere
a. Good institutions are those that favor the provision of care to all citizens in need
b. Good institutions are those that allow all individuals to realize theirconception of the good life
c. Good institutions are those that maximize social welfare
d. Good institutions are those that provide basic capabilities to all citizens
a. Modern capitalism suffers from the ideology of the self-made man
b. Modern capitalism undervalues activities related to care provision
c. Modern capitalism is too much oriented towards the satisfaction of desires
d. All answers
From a utilitarian perspective, a social health insurance system funded bycompulsory taxation is:
a. Unjustified, because this goes against individual liberties
b. Unjustified, because this may make the exploitation of workerssustainable
c. Justified, because this increases aggregate welfare by redistributingresources towards the poor (who have more health care needs)
d. Justified, because this reduces welfare inequalities between the richand the poor
Roemer defends a public health insurance system on the grounds that:
a. This reduces welfare inequalities
b. This reduces exploitation in terms of needs
c. This expands individual capabilities
d. This improves the situation of the most disadvantaged individuals
According to Rawls, a public health insurance system is justified on thegrounds that this:
a. Contributes to increase social welfare
b. Contributes to compensate inequalities in natural primary goods
c. Contributes to expand individual capabilities
d. Contributes to reduce the exploitation of labor
According to Walzer, the public health insurance system in the United States:
a. Should be reduced, because it goes against individual freedoms
b. Should be reduced, because it goes against the ideal of individual responsibility
c. Should be expanded, because health care should be distributed on the basis of needs, and not on the basis of how rich individuals are
d. Should be expanded, because this would increase social welfare
Under production complementarities among world’s workers (beneficial to all workers of the host country) and under selection effects (more innovative/skilled workers migrate), a policy contributing to (marginally) open borders to a larger degree is, under utilitarianism:
a. Optimal from the perspective of the host country, but not from the perspective of the home country
b. Optimal from the perspective of the host country, and optimal from the perspective of the home country only if transfers compensate the departure of the most skilled
c. Optimal from the perspective of the home country, but not from the perspective of the host country
d. Optimal neither from the perspective of the host country, nor from the perspective of the home country
In a libertarian society,
a. Migrations are prohibited
b. Migrations are allowed, but migrants do not receive aid from the State
c. Migrations are allowed, but migrants receive aid from the State
From Marx’s perspective, opening borders would, everything else being unchanged:
a. Reduce the exploitation of labor everywhere
b. Reduce exploitation in home countries, and increase it in hostcountries
c. Reduce exploitation in host countries, and increase it in homecountries
d. Increase the exploitation of labor everywhere
According to Roemer, workers from the Third World suffer from national exploitation because:
a. Their material situation would be improved if means of production were redistributed equally, everything else being unchanged
b. Their material situation would be improved if skills were redistributed equally, everything else being unchanged
c. Their material situation would be improved if birth assets were redistributed equally, everything else being unchanged
d. Their material situation would be improved if formal liberties were redistributed equally, everything else being unchanged
Sandel criticized Becker’s proposal of selling U.S. citizenship against $100,000because:
a. This proposal goes against the interests of the least advantaged citizen
b. This proposal goes against social welfare maximization
c. This proposal goes against individual freedom of movement
d. This proposal leads to a degradation of what U.S. citizenship is
According to utilitarianism, positive discrimination at the entrance of the university
a. Is justified on the grounds of providing equal opportunities to all
b. Is justified on the grounds of serving the interests of the most disadvantaged
c. May be justified or not, depending on its effects on the sum of individual utilities
d. May be justified or not, depending on the goals of the university
According to Rawls, positive discrimination at the entrance of the university
a. Is justified on the grounds of redistributing resources towards the most disadvantaged
b. Is justified on the grounds of equalizing opportunities for all
c. Is not justified, on the grounds that individuals with the same skills should have equal chances of access to all social positions
d. Is not justified, on the ground that this goes against the Principle of EqualLiberty
According to Roemer, positive discrimination at the entrance of the university
a. Is justified provided this leads to reduce welfare inequalities
b. Is justified provided this leads to increase social welfare
c. Is justified provided this reduces the extent of inequalities in the ownership of the means of production
d. Is justified provided this serves the interests of the most disadvantaged individuals
According to Walzer,
a. Both basic education and higher education should be allocated on the basis ofneeds
b. Basic education should be allocated on the basis of needs, whereas higher education should be allocated on the basis of interests and skills
c. Basic education should be allocated on the basis of interests and skills,whereas higher education should be allocated on the basis of needs
d. Both basic education and higher education should be allocated on the basis ofinterests and skills
According to Sandel, positive discrimination at the entrance of the university
a. Is justified on the ground of maximizing social welfare
b. Is justified on the ground of improving the situation of the worst-off
c. May be justified or not, depending on the goals pursued by the university
d. Is not justified
From a libertarian perspective, a public health insurance system is
socially desirable, because it helps the least advantaged individuals
socially desirable because this promotes individual capabilities to achieve things in their lives
socially undesirable because this goes against the ideal of a minimal state without coercion
socially undesirable because this does not lead to social welfare maximisation
