Liberalism and Conservatism Questions
1. As an ideology, conservatism is largely a m
atter of temperament, of a disposition to preserve
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true ways of life.
a. True b. False
____ 2. Conservatives place a higher value on the a
uthority of established government than on individu
al liberty.
a. True b. False
____ 3. Thomas Hobbes is considered the founding fa
ther of conservatism.
a. True b. False
____ 4. As used by Burke, “prejudice” is a disposit
ion to prefer the familiar habits and traditions of
one’s own society.
a. True b. False
a. True b. False
____ 6. Despite the fact that the United States had
no experience of feudalism, hereditary aristocracy
, monarchy, nor
a national church, American conservatism and Europe
an conservatism are strikingly similar.
a. True b. False
____ 7. Many conservatives took fascism to be the l
ogical result of the democratic excesses of mass so
ciety.
a. True b. False
____ 8. According to many conservatives, to check t
he excesses of mass society more power must be give
n to those
who rise above the mass in terms of ability, experi
ence, and temperament to govern.
a. True b. False
____ 9. Leveling is the effort to diminish or elimi
nate the gap between the wealthiest and poorest mem
bers of a
society.
a. True b. False
____ 10. In the conservative conception of freedom,
the agent that is or should be free is…
a. common working people.
b. the individual.
c. interconnected individuals.
d. the nation-state.
____ 11. In the conservative conception of freedom,
the goal the agent must be free to pursue is…
a. the power and glory of the state.
b. order, stability; harmony, continuity.
c. to live as one chooses.
d. fulfillment of human needs, e.g., satisfying wor
k, fair share of product.
____ 12. In the conservative conception of freedom,
the main obstacle/barrier/restraint encountered by
the agent is…
a. laws, customs, or conditions that block individu
al choice.
b. radical ideas, innovation; passions, desires, la
ck of restraint.
c. class divisions, economic inequalities, unequal
life-chances, false consciousness.
d. individualism, independent groups, class divisio
ns.
____ 13. Conservatives understand human beings to b
e…
a. emotional, defined by their differences, and loc
ked in conflict.
b. imperfect, weak, and marked by original sin.
c. rational, self-interested, and competitive.
d. communal creatures, cooperative, and perfectible
.
____ 14. Which of the following statements about co
nservatives is
TRUE
?
a. All conservatives share a desire to preserve som
ething.
b. All conservatives want to preserve the same thin
gs.
c. Anyone who wants to preserve something is a cons
ervative.
d. All of the answers to this question are true.
____ 15. As an ideology, conservatism began as a re
action against the liberal elements of…
a. the American Revolution.
b. the French Revolution.
c. the Glorious Revolution.
d. all of the answers to this question.
a. society is a living and changing organism, a who
le that is greater than the sum of its parts.
b. private property is an important stabilizing for
ce in society because it strengthens one’s
attachment to the society and government that surro
und and protect this property.
c. the traditional authority of churches, families,
and other groups must be respected.
d. all of the answers to this question.
____ 17. Which of the following is
NOT
a concept Edmund Burke shared with early liberals?
a. the social contract
b. an atomistic view of society
c. government as a necessary evil
d. Edmund Burke did not share any of the concepts i
n the answers to this question with early
liberals.
____ 18. Edmund Burke believed…
a. democracy is absolutely necessary to the health
of representative government.
b. elected representatives should always vote as th
eir constituents want them to vote.
c. an individual’s interests cannot be well represe
nted unless that individual has the right to
vote.
d. none of the answers to this question.
____ 19. For Edmund Burke…
a. change must be brought about carefully and gradu
ally through reform.
b. all power should be placed in government so that
government is strong enough to protect
society.
c. freedom is always a destructive force and theref
ore freedom is never a good thing.
d. all of the answers to this question.
____ 20. Which of the following is
NOT
a belief held by Edmund Burke?
a. The “true natural aristocracy” is the rare few w
ho have the ability, the experience and the
inclination to govern wisely in the interest of soc
iety.
b. The “true natural aristocracy” and the hereditar
y aristocracy are one and the same.
c. A society deprived of its hereditary aristocracy
is a society deprived of many of its best
and brightest members.
d. All of the answers to this question are beliefs
held by Edmund Burke.
____ 21. Liberalism reacted to the Industrial Revol
ution with welfare liberalism; conservatism reacted
to the Industrial
Revolution with…
a. Burkean conservatism.
b. cultural conservatism.
c. individualist conservatism.
d. reactionary conservatism.
____ 22. Which of the following American Founders i
s considered to be more Burkean in his conservatism
?
a. Alexander Hamilton
b. Benjamin Franklin
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. James Madison
____ 23. Which of the following did
NOT
contribute to the rise of mass society in the 20th
century?
a. the expansion of voting rights
b. the spread of public education
c. the increase in mass production/affordability of
consumer goods
d. all of the answers to this question contributed
to the rise of mass society in the 20th
century
____ 24. Which of the following is a conservative a
ssertion about the effects of leveling?
a. Leveling leads to economic and social stagnation
.
b. Leveling causes serious literature, music, and a
rt to be overwhelmed by fads and fancies.
c. Leveling produces a loss of local variety and di
versity.
d. All of the answers to this question are conserva
tive assertions about the effects of
leveling.
unified in their fear/hatred of….
a. atheists.
b. communists.
c. fascists.
d. liberals.
____ 26. Log Cabin Republicans are…
a. environmental conservatives.
b. gay conservatives.
c. individualist conservatives.
d. traditional conservatives.
____ 27. Despite their differences, all conservativ
es agree on…
a. the importance of private property.
b. laissez-faire capitalism.
c. prayer in public school.
d. all of the answers to this question.
____ 28. In its explanatory function, conservatism
understands social, political and economic conditio
ns to be as they
are because of…
a. economic and class relations.
b. the frailty of imperfect human nature.
c. individual choices and actions.
d. those who conspire to keep the nation weak in or
der to serve their own personal interests.
____ 29. In its evaluative function, conservatism a
dvises that…
a. the more freedom people have, the better; the mo
re restrained/controlled people are, the
worse.
b. the more harmonious the social relations, the be
tter; the more conflictive the social
relations, the worse.
c. the more slight the class divisions, the better;
the more sharp the class divisions, the
worse.
d. the more unified the nation, the better; the mor
e fragmented the nation, the worse.
____ 30. In its orientative function, conservatism
explains that…
a. each of us is part of a greater whole.
b. we find ourselves in a particular position in th
e class structure.
c. we are the nation.
d. our identity is an individual identity.
____ 31. In its programmatic function, conservatism
directs us to….
a. cherish and conserve what we already have.
b. promote individual liberty and opportunity.
c. create a society that is as nearly classless as
possible.
d. give everything to the state, keep nothing from
the state, and do nothing against the state.
____ 32. Conservatives…
a. reject democracy altogether.
b. support a chastened/modest form of representativ
e democracy in which the people have
limited power and make limited demands.
c. favor democracy so long as it protects individua
l rights and interests in privacy and free
action.
d.
are committed to democracy that is
truly
of, by, and for the people.
[Matching Questions Found on Next Page]
with the correct statement listed in 33-1 to 33-5.
Each correct match is worth 0.20 points; Question 3
3 is worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. individualist conservatives
b. neoconservatives
c. traditional conservatives
d. reactionaries
e. religious right
____33-1. Want to preserve the traditional features
of existing society through cautious reform.
____33-2. Advocate less reliance on government, an
assertive foreign policy, and an emphasis on the va
lue of work,
thrift, family, and self-restraint.
____33-3. Favor reducing the size of government in
order to free individuals to compete for profits in
the free market.
____33-4. Want to reverse social change and return
to an earlier form of society and politics.
____33-5. Push for biblical morality in government
and society.
Match each of the authors listed in answers a-e wit
h the correct statement listed in 34-1 to 34-5. Ea
ch
correct match is worth 0.20 points; Question 34 is
worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. Edmund Burke
b. Benjamin Disraeli
c. Joseph de Maistre
d. Clemens von Metternich
e. Pope Pius IX/the Catholic Church
____34-1. Devised the plan for restoring hereditary
monarchs and the old aristocratic order in Europe
after the defeat of
Napoleon in 1815.
____34-2. Understood society to be like a fabric –
the “social fabric” – and its individual members ar
e like the interwoven
threads of a richly textured tapestry.
____34-3. Pursued the policies of Tory democracy: a
ddress the needs of the working class while instill
ing in the workers
a respect for the traditional order.
____34-4. His
Syllabus of Errors
sharply criticized liberalism for undermining reli
gion and the traditional order.
____34-5. Saw the Enlightenment as an age of arroga
nce that led to the downfall of the most sacred and
necessary
institutions of “throne and altar.”
1. The word “liberal” derives from the Latin
liber
, meaning “free.”
a. True b. False
____ 2. Liberals believe that everyone can and shou
ld be equally successful.
a. True b. False
____ 3. The British parliament gave little attentio
n to the American colonists’ complaints of being ta
xed unfairly
because although the colonists may not have been “a
ctually” represented in the British parliament they
were
“virtually” represented by the members of parliamen
t who looked after the interests of the entire
commonwealth.
a. True b. False
____ 4. The American Revolution began as an effort
by the colonists to restore their rights under the
Crown and only
later transformed into a fight for independence fro
m the Crown.
a. True b. False
____ 5. While the American revolutionaries were inf
luenced both by classical republicanism and liberal
ism, the French
Revolution was a purely liberal revolution.
a. True b. False
____ 6. When the French revolutionaries attacked ar
istocratic privilege, they were attacking a form of
political
absolutism.
a. True b. False
____ 7. As used by Utilitarians, the concept of “ut
ility” means seeking pleasure in immediate gratific
ation.
a. True b. False
____ 8. Social Darwinism uses Darwin’s theory of na
tural selection as “scientific” support for the pol
icies and practices
of laissez-faire capitalism.
a. True b. False
____ 9. Most neoclassical liberals today base their
arguments on evolutionary premises.
a. True b. False
____ 10. By the mid 1900s, neoclassical liberals we
re being referred to as “conservatives.”
a. True b. False
____ 11. Welfare liberals want to replace capitalis
m with a system of publicly owned and democraticall
y controlled
enterprises.
a. True b. False
____ 12. In the liberal conception of freedom, the
agent that is or should be free is…
a. common working people.
b. the individual.
c. interconnected individuals.
d. the nation-state.
goal the agent must be free to pursue is…
a. the power and glory of the state.
b. order, stability; harmony, continuity.
c. to live as one chooses.
d. fulfillment of human needs, e.g., satisfying wor
k, fair share of product.
____ 14. In the liberal conception of freedom, the
main obstacle/barrier/restraint encountered by the
agent is…
a. laws, customs, or conditions that block individu
al choice.
b. radical ideas, innovation; passions, desires, la
ck of restraint.
c. class divisions, economic inequalities, unequal
life-chances, false consciousness.
d. individualism, independent groups, class divisio
ns.
____ 15. Liberals understand human beings to be…
a. emotional, defined by their differences, and loc
ked in conflict.
b. imperfect, weak, and marked by original sin.
c. rational, self-interested, and competitive.
d. communal creatures, cooperative, and perfectible
.
____ 16. Which of the following statements about li
fe in medieval Europe is
FALSE
?
a. The Church understood its mission to be saving s
ouls for the kingdom of God by
upholding “correct belief.”
b. Secular rulers were unwilling to join forces wit
h the Church to suppress those whom the
Church considered heretics or infidels.
c. People from all ranks of society could hope to f
ind a place among the clergy.
d. All of the statements about life in medieval Eur
ope in the answers to this question are true.
____ 17. Which of the following statements about li
fe in medieval Europe is
TRUE
?
a. A person’s social standing was fixed by birth an
d there was little that s/he could do to
change it.
b. Feudalism was the main form of social and econom
ic organization.
c. Different liberties attached to different levels
of status in society.
d. All of the statements about life in medieval Eur
ope in the answers to this question are true.
____ 18. Which of the following is a social, econom
ic, or cultural change that disturbed the medieval
order in Europe?
a. the Black Death
b. the Renaissance
c. the Protestant Reformation
d. all of the answers to this question
____ 19. During the Protestant Reformation, Martin
Luther….
a. wanted people to be able to believe and worship
in whatever way they chose.
b. agitated to separate church from state.
c. counseled his followers to resist their rulers i
n the name of God.
d. none of the above.
____ 20. When we compare/contrast Hobbes’
Leviathan
to Locke’s
Second Treatise
, we see that both believed that…
a. the state of nature is a state of war.
b. government is founded on the consent of the peop
le.
c. the only reason for government is to provide sec
urity.
d. all of the answers to this question.
____ 21. Which of the following statements comparin
g/contrasting classical republicanism and early lib
eralism is
TRUE
?
a. Classical republicans were more concerned about
civic virtue than were early liberals.
b. Early liberals understood freedom as a matter of
governing oneself whereas classical
republicans understood freedom as a matter of being
left alone by the government.
c. Both early liberals and classical republicans wo
rried about the corruption of the people as
much as they worried about the corruption of the go
vernment.
d. All of the statements comparing/contrasting clas
sical republicanism and early liberalism in
the answers to this question are true.
NOT
a tactic used by mercantilist countries?
a. colonies
b. high tariffs
c. monopolies
d. all of the answers to this question are tactics
used by mercantilist countries
____ 23. The Utilitarians were most concerned with.
..
a. economic liberty.
b. the right to vote.
c. religious tolerance.
d. equal opportunity.
____ 24. Many blamed the (global) Great Depression
of the 1930s on capitalism and turned to _______ in
stead.
a. fascism
b. socialism/communism
c. welfare liberalism
d. all of the answers to this question
____ 25. According to John Maynard Keynes, during p
eriods of inflation (rising prices) government shou
ld…
a. do nothing.
b. raise taxes.
c. increase spending.
d. both raise taxes and increase spending.
____ 26. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Socie
ty” programs in the 1960s are an example of…
a. communitarianism.
b. libertarianism.
c. utilitarianism.
d. welfare liberalism.
____ 27. In its explanatory function, liberalism un
derstands social, political and economic conditions
to be as they are
because of…
a. economic and class relations.
b. the frailty of imperfect human nature.
c. individual choices and actions.
d. those who conspire to keep the nation weak in or
der to serve their own personal interests.
____ 28. In its evaluative function, liberalism adv
ises that…
a. the more freedom people have, the better; the mo
re restrained/controlled people are, the
worse.
b. the more harmonious the social relations, the be
tter; the more conflictive the social
relations, the worse.
c. the more slight the class divisions, the better;
the more sharp the class divisions, the
worse.
d. the more unified the nation, the better; the mor
e fragmented the nation, the worse.
____ 29. In its orientative function, liberalism ex
plains that…
a. each of us is part of a greater whole.
b. we find ourselves in a particular position in th
e class structure.
c. we are the nation.
d. our identity is an individual identity.
____ 30. In its programmatic function, liberalism d
irects us to….
a. cherish and conserve what we already have.
b. promote individual liberty and opportunity.
c. create a society that is as nearly classless as
possible.
d. give everything to the state, keep nothing from
the state, and do nothing against the state.
a. reject democracy altogether.
b. support a chastened/modest form of representativ
e democracy in which the people have
limited power and make limited demands.
c. favor democracy so long as it protects individua
l rights and interests in privacy and free
action.
d.
are committed to democracy that is
truly
of, by, and for the people.
Match each of the authors listed in answers a-e wit
h the correct statement listed in 32-1 to 32-5. Ea
ch
correct match is worth 0.20 points; Question 32 is
worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. Calvinists
b. Thomas Hobbes
c. John Locke
d. Martin Luther
e. Thomas Paine
____32-1. Said that life in the state of nature is
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
____32-2. His desire to debate the sale of “indulge
nces” by the Catholic Church sparked the Protestant
Reformation.
____32-3. The first to argue that people have a rig
ht to overthrow any ruler who denies them the free
exercise of their
religion.
____32-4. Argued for religious tolerance and limite
d government.
____32-5. Believed monarchy to be absolutely incomp
atible with individual liberty.
Match each of the authors listed in answers a-e wit
h the correct statement listed in 33-1 to 33-5. Ea
ch
correct match is worth 0.20 points; Question 33 is
worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. Jeremy Bentham
b. Bernard Mandeville
c. John Stuart Mill
d. Physiocrats
e. Adam Smith
____33-1. Argued that human beings are merely pleas
ure seekers and pain avoiders; therefore, what we n
eed to do is
figure out how to be more efficient pleasure-seeker
s and pain-avoiders.
____33-2. Compared the operation of the free market
to the workings of an “invisible hand.”
____33-3. One of the first to argue that the best w
ay to promote the good of society as a whole is to
let people pursue
their private (economic) interests.
____33-4. Used the phrase “laissez faire, laissez p
aser” to express the idea that governments should r
emove
regulations and leave people alone to compete in th
e marketplace.
____33-5. Formulated the “harm principle” that peop
le should be free to do what they want as long as t
hey do not harm
or threaten harm to others.
h the correct statement listed in 34-1 to 34-4. Ea
ch
correct match is worth 0.25 points; Question 34 is
worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. Robert Nozick
b. Murray Rothbard
c. Herbert Spencer
d. William Graham Sumner
____34-1. Argued that “freedom” meant the freedom t
o compete including the freedom of the victors to k
eep and enjoy
the fruits of their victory without having to share
them with anyone else – certainly not with the poo
r, who were
poor precisely because they had lost in this life-a
nd-death competition.
____34-2. Coined the phrase “survival of the fittes
t” when he argued that helping the poor and the wea
k impedes
individual freedom and retards social progress by h
olding the strong back.
____34-3. Believed that using taxation to take mone
y from some people for the benefit of others is “on
par with forced
labor.”
____34-4. Considered government to be an
un
necessary evil that should be abolished in favor of
free-market
anarchism.
Match each of the authors listed in answers a-d wit
h the correct statement listed in 35-1 to 35-4. Ea
ch
correct match is worth 0.25 points; Question 35 is
worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. Otto von Bismark
b. T.H. Green
c. John Maynard Keynes
d. John Rawls
____35-1. Argued that freedom is more than just neg
ative freedom (the right to be left alone); freedom
also includes
positive freedom (the ability to realize or achieve
our ideal/higher selves).
____35-2. Believed that the welfare state was the b
est way to oppose socialism.
____35-3. Used the idea of writing a social contrac
t with everyone behind a “veil of ignorance” to unc
over fundamental
principles of social justice.
____35-4. Argued that governments should use their
taxing and spending powers to prevent depressions a
nd maintain a
healthy economy.
Match each of the economic theories listed in answe
rs a-c with the correct statement listed in 36-1 to
36-3. Each correct match is worth 0.33 points; Que
stion 36 is worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. capitalism
b. feudalism
c. mercantilism
____36-1. An economic system in which the major mea
ns of production are privately owned and operated f
or the profit
of the owners or investors.
____36-2. The economic policy of promoting a countr
y’s wealth at the expense of others by establishing
monopolies and
regulating foreign trade to favor domestic industry
.
____36-3. An agricultural society in which a relati
vely small number of people control the land while
most others work it
as tenants or serfs.
with the correct statement listed in 37-1 to 37-5.
Each correct match is worth 0.20 points; Question 3
7 is worth up to a total of 1 point.
a. communitarians
b. new left
c. neoclassical liberals/libertarians
d. utilitarians
e. welfare liberals
____37-1. Government’s only legitimate business is
to protect the person and property of individuals a
gainst force and
fraud.
____37-2. Government should encourage people to be
active citizens through “participatory democracy” r
ather than
reducing them to mere consumers in a capitalist mar
ket.
____37-3. Government, in addition to respecting/pro
tecting individual rights, must encourage citizens
to fulfill individual
responsibilities to promote the common good.
____37-4. Government should always act to promote t
he greatest happiness of the greatest number.
____37-5. Government should rescue people from pove
rty, ignorance, and illness.
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