I Love Politics. Do You? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Max Weber

Interesting theory given that the propensity of Americans to excessively spend and borrow (not save) has gotten us into so much trouble! By the way, the choice Marianne Schnitger is Weber's wife (and distant cousin).

Answer: False

This actually represents the theory presented by Francis Fukuyama in "The End of History and the Last Man" (1992). Among other things, Huntington is well known for his "Clash of the Civilizations" theory concerning post-Cold War conflict.

Answer: John Locke

I actually had a professor say once that if Thomas Jefferson was a college student submitting the Declaration as a paper, he would be flunked for plaigiarising Locke!

Answer: Niccolo Machiavelli

Although famous as an evil and power hungry person, some speculate that "The Prince" was actually satire, and was meant as a means for Machiavelli to obtain a job with the administration in Florence.

Answer: They are both noted realists.

It is interesting that such a controversial and famous book about the effect of a non-state actor on state behavior was written by two realists! In fact, Mearsheimer made his name, so to speak, promoting his theory of offensive realism, a hotly debated and influential contribution to international relations.

Answer: nasty

Oh, Hobbes, the optimist. This famous line was used in his most famous work, "The Leviathan". This work was concerned with the role of government in the life of man, and is widely hailed as one of the most influential pieces of political philosophy in history. Also, Hobbes actually made his living for a large portion of his life not as a philosopher or author, but as a tutor for children of the nobility. Specifically, he traveled Europe with the son of William Cavendish, and became very close with the family.

He also was noted for his translation of Thucydides' "History of the Pelopennesian War" into English from the Greek manuscript, as he was the first to accomplish this.

Answer: Billiard ball model

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the theory, the analogy to billiard balls is very illustrative. Imagine you're playing pool. Does the color or number of the ball impact how/where it collides with other balls, or whether it sinks in the desired pocket? No, only the position of the other balls, or how the player hits the balls.

This is what proponets of the billiard ball model suggest international relations is akin to. The particular qualities of the individual states matter less than the international system in which the states finds themselves.

Answer: False

Morgenthau and Thucydides are considered to be founding fathers of REALISM in international relations. Alexander Wendt is probably the father of constructivism in international relations. He posed the idea that international relations are a result of social values rather than systemic or domestic realities.

Answer: change

This line comes from "Theses of Feuerbach" in which Marx aims to critique some ideas of Ludwig Feuerbach. He also is somewhat ambitious with this short work in which he criticizes the entire class of Young Hegelian philosophers with ideas such as the one expressed in this quote.

This work was not published until after Marx's death by his collaborator Freidrich Engels. Engels famously co-authored several works with Karl Marx, and their ideas, whether for good or bad, changed the world. Also, this quote along with the last line of the "Communist Manifesto", "Workers of all lands unite", appear on Marx's tomb.

Answer: 95 Theses

Oh, did a storm start after this one. Curiously, Luther didn't originally intend this work as a confrontation with the Pope, but rather just a way to academically challenge some particular practices which he disagreed with. Also, the first two choices (67 Grievances, 100 Disputations) were made up by the author, but Luther did write the "Smalcald Articles".

However, these were not nailed to the Castle Church, and were written after the "95 Theses" had sparked the Reformation.