Political Ideas: Consent, Liberty & Limits on Power — Drills · Grade 12 Social Studies
Chapter: Foundations of Government & Public ReasoningWhat these drills covers
By the end of Political Ideas: Consent, Liberty & Limits on Power you should be able to:
- I can reconstruct an argument before evaluating it.
- I can explain a civic or economic mechanism using evidence, assumptions, and a qualified conclusion.
4 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.
Vocabulary used: political theory, social contract, consent, popular sovereignty, premise.
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
A problem establishes a need to consider action, while a solution needs a mechanism, assumptions, limits, and comparison with alternatives. Secure agreements, for example, do not logically establish that all official power must be unlimited.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Only eligible and participating voters are directly represented in the result. Exclusions, alternatives, information, and coercion affect what can be inferred. A majority within a restricted electorate does not establish everyone’s consent to the resulting rule.
Problem 3
Answer and explanation
A vote records preference within an electorate. Whether the decision can burden a protected right requires another rule and justification. Rights frameworks can constrain collective decisions, including those with substantial support, so identify both the procedure and the protection at issue.
Problem 4
Answer and explanation
Apply shared criteria to each argument and explain the connections among its premises, institutions, and limits. Identify differences in consent, rights, sovereignty, and power, then use dated evidence to distinguish an idea’s claim from later institutional practice.