Quiz: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

15 questions drawn at random. Score 80% for a silver medal.

1. Why does Godwin call freedom of the will, if it existed, man’s “bane and curse”? It would make all punishment unjust and too severe It would prevent people from forming settled habits of virtue It would make God responsible for every human sin It would let caprice defy reason and education
2. How often does Godwin think national assemblies should meet? Never; districts should not cooperate at all Permanently, as the French assembly had done Preferably only in emergencies Once every seven years, as the British Parliament then did by law
3. What figure does Godwin give for England’s annual poor rates? Twelve hundred thousand pounds Thirteen million pounds Two million pounds Half a million pounds
4. Which country’s president does Godwin cite as holding powers like those of a king? The United States of America The Republic of the United Provinces Poland The Most Serene Republic of Venice
5. To whose political writings does Godwin credit his early conviction that monarchy is corrupt? Viscount Bolingbroke’s Jonathan Swift’s James Harrington’s Algernon Sidney’s
6. What does Godwin say of promises, “absolutely considered”? They are the foundation of all morality and of society They are morally indifferent, neither good nor evil in themselves They bind absolutely, whatever their consequences They are an evil, if at times a necessary one
7. Which kind of rights does Godwin say a just philosophy will “explode”? Passive rights to the forbearance of others Active rights to do as we please The right of private judgement The right to the assistance of our neighbours
8. Which writer, according to Godwin, thought the step from picture-writing to the alphabet so hard that it needed a miracle? Jean-Jacques Rousseau John Locke David Hume David Hartley
9. What everyday practice does Godwin use to illustrate sincerity in the appendix on excluding visitors? Taking an oath of allegiance before a magistrate Telling a servant to say one is not at home Praising a host’s poor dinner to his face at table Signing letters “your obedient servant”
10. What does Godwin call the decline of government as weakness and ignorance diminish? The true euthanasia of government The revolution of the saints on earth The fulfilment of the social contract The coming age of reason and philosophy
11. Which myth does Godwin use as an image of the effect of law? Sisyphus and his stone, forever rolled back down the hill Procrustes, who forced travellers to fit his bed The labyrinth of Minos Prometheus stealing fire from the gods for mankind
12. How does Godwin judge the country gentleman who employs hundreds of poor to reshape his park? As admirable if he pays good wages As a benefactor who gives work to the poor As the enemy of his species, since he adds needless labour As neutral, since the poor would otherwise be idle and hungry
13. How does Godwin answer the fear that levelling principles lead to massacre? The danger is imaginary, as revolutions are never violent Discussion should be suppressed until the people are educated Massacres are justified by the despotism that preceded them His enquiry concerns discussion, not revolution or force
14. Why, according to Godwin, is quiet acquiescence a poor sign of consent to a government? Acquiescence must be renewed by a vote every year to count Scripture forbids tacit promises Only owners of land are capable of acquiescing Peasants and artisans seldom have the power to emigrate
15. Which of these is not one of the five propositions Godwin draws from the doctrine that voluntary actions follow opinion? Truth is omnipotent Man is perfectible Government is a necessary evil Vice is not invincible

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