Instructions: Please pick ONE of the following topics and write a response of 6 pages(double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins). Make sure to refer to and cite the relevant readings in your answer. You are not required to cite any material beyond the provided readings, this is NOT a research paper. Make sure to have a detailed thesis and roadmap. Please follow this criteria and essay outline found in this link: http://www.alisonmcqueen.info/new-page-1
Choose ONE essay topic only, there are 4 in total:
- Does the example of Athenian democracy tell us anything about the ability of ordinary people to effectively and responsibly exercise political power today? If so, what does it tell us? If not, why does the example not apply today? Please support your argument with evidence from the readings.
- In Book 6 of the Republic, Plato compares politics to sailing a ship: the ship is the political community, the shipowner is the people, the sailors who try to persuade the shipowner to let them steer are politicians, and the “true captain” is the philosophical
ruler. Do you think that this is a good analogy for political life? Why or why not? - In Book 3 of the Politics, Aristotle argues that “the many” can sometimes make better judgments than individuals. Do you think that he makes a convincing argument? Do you think that this argument is a strong defense of democracy?
- Critics of the early Christians accused them (in Edward Gibbon’s later words) of “indolent or even criminal disregard to the public welfare.” Based on your reading of Augustine, do you think that this was a fair critique?
