Comment on the feminist critique of the state in 150 words.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Route 1 reject state-as-neutral → law / policy carry male power
Route 2 state looks impartial → feminism exposes its gendered foundations
public-sphere myth → “personal is political” (Hanisch) → patriarchal in structure (radical) → Pateman’s sexual contract → MacKinnon: state is male → public-private divide hides dominance
may essentialise all states / reduce oppression to gender alone
Route 1 neither enemy nor saviour → gendered terrain of struggle
Route 2 critique holds → equality needs power addressed in public and private
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
Also asked on this head
Theories of the State — 9 questions in the Vault.
- What is the Marxist and liberal approach towards the state? On what grounds are the theoretical differences between them premised? Explain.
- Comment on the pluralist theory of the state in about 150 words.
- Examine the liberal theory of the State in contemporary politics.
How this is taught
The same flow snapshot, built for every head of the syllabus, with the answer written in class.
The first session of Foundation 2027 is published in full.
Six programmes across three levels.