Deck 4: Conservatism

Question 1

Who uses the imagery of the social fabric?

A) Edmund Burke
B) John Locke
C) John Stuart Mill
D) Jeremy Bentham
E) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A good society, according to most conservatives, is one that values

A) innovation, progress, and change.
B) order, stability, and continuity.
C) individual freedom, equality, and democracy.
D) liberty, equality, and fraternity.
E) sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Conservatives reject attempts to promote equality by transferring wealth to the poor as misguided

A) communizing.
B) fraternizing.
C) dieting.
D) equalizing.
E) levelling.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Members of the religious right believe that the United States should return to a society in which

A) the government interferes less in the economy, the citizens are virtuous, and traditional values are upheld.
B) the government requires that Christianity be taught in schools as the one true religion.
C) the true natural aristocracy resumes its rightful place as the leader of the masses.
D) people are free to do as they please as long as they do not harm or threaten harm to others.
E) Christianity should be the only religion allowed.

Question 5

Prejudice is usually a good thing, according to Edmund Burke, because it is

A) a form of latent wisdom that allows people to deal with new situations in time-tested ways.
B) always changing, which gives it the advantage of flexibility in meeting challenges.
C) always looking for new ways of doing things that lead to social progress.
D) a disposition to follow one's gut instincts and to act impulsively.
E) true that you can judge a book by looking at its cover.

Question 6

The belief that human beings are interconnected, like the parts of the body, is part of

A) the social contract theory.
B) the organic view of society.
C) levelling.
D) individualist conservatism.
E) the atomistic view of society.

Question 7

The great danger of mass society, according to José Ortega y Gasset, is that it

A) leads to a powerful state that destroys all opposition.
B) destroys freedom of religion by forcing everyone to follow the religion of the masses.
C) leads to a weak state that is unable to bridle and subdue the passions of the people.
D) leads to a "dumbing down" of books and movies to appeal to a mass audience.
E) leads to overcrowding in Roman Catholic churches.

Question 8

Conservatives have typically opposed communism because

A) they have had nothing better to do with their time.
B) conservatives believe that human beings can become perfect if government gets out of the way.
C) conservatives oppose the communist belief that government must subdue the people's passions.
D) conservatives dislike the communist belief that people need to be taught discipline and control.
E) conservatives think that communists have too much faith in progress and social planning.

Question 9

Edmund Burke did NOT believe that

A) the dangers of revolution outweigh the benefits.
B) innovation is bad, but reform is good.
C) private property is necessary to a good society.
D) every society ought to follow its natural aristocracy.
E) abstract reason is the best guide people have in political matters.

Question 10

Edmund Burke and other conservatives believe that people can be truly free only when

A) they are free from the oppressive power of the natural aristocracy.
B) they are free from traditions and customs that don't allow them to think for themselves.
C) they are required to join the "little platoons" of society to defend their country.
D) their passions and desires are controlled through either self-restraint or social restraint.
E) they are attending "raves" and taking Ecstasy.

Question 11

Neoconservatives and traditional conservatives are somewhat suspicious of capitalism because they

A) think that capitalism encourages people to believe that they can be perfect.
B) think that capitalism dissolves traditional relationships and encourages reckless spending.
C) believe that capitalist firms devote too much time and energy to planning for progress.
D) think that capitalism has led to the levelling of society.
E) are just naturally suspicious people.

Question 12

Edmund Burke favored a form of government that includes all the following features EXCEPT

A) a representative body, such as Congress or Parliament.
B) a natural aristocracy to lead society.
C) reliance upon private property to provide stability.
D) power distributed among various groups or "little platoons" of society.
E) concentration of power in a central government to enforce religious conformity.

Question 13

The difference between reactionaries and other conservatives is that reactionaries

A) favor levelling programs; other conservatives oppose them.
B) are more sympathetic to democracy than other conservatives are.
C) want to speed up the pace of change; other conservatives want to slow it down.
D) want to reverse social changes and return to an earlier form of society and politics.
E) both A and D are correct.

Question 14

Conservatives from Burke to the present have

A) supported efforts to achieve greater democracy and equality of opportunity.
B) distrusted efforts to achieve greater democracy and equality of opportunity.
C) favored attempts to extinguish the fire of liberty.
D) argued that people can be trusted to do what is best for society.
E) attempted to strengthen the connection between church and state by restoring official religions.

Question 15

Which group of conservatives is most likely to favor unrestricted, laissez-faire economic competition?

A) classical or traditional conservatives
B) individualist conservatives
C) neoconservatives
D) the religious right
E) reactionaries

Question 16

Conservatives like Edmund Burke believe that individual freedom is

A) not only good but the most important of all good things.
B) so important that it must be protected against the prejudices that interfere with free inquiry.
C) merely an obstacle to political authority.
D) good, but not as good as a Porsche.
E) good as long as it is ordered liberty.

Question 17

The religious right is considered conservative because it wants to

A) promote what it regards as traditional morality and family values.
B) expand the role of government in economic matters.
C) promote individual liberty by encouraging freedom of expression.
D) prevent the immoral majority from exploiting the moral minority.
E) use social planning to bring about a perfect society.

Question 18

Benjamin Disraeli's policy of Tory democracy is considered conservative because Disraeli

A) wanted everyone to compete for wealth without government restrictions.
B) hoped to instill in the working class a respect for the traditional order of British life.
C) believed that the workers would blunt the upper class's enthusiasm for socialism.
D) thought that the working class provided the new natural aristocracy of Britain.
E) was just a conservative kind of guy.

Question 19

José Ortega y Gasset worried that the rise of mass society would

A) lead to the overthrow of capitalism, throne, and altar.
B) reverse the trend toward levelling in the modern world.
C) lead to anarchism and chaos as government lost its power to control the people.
D) lead to powerful states or governments that would smash all opposition to them.
E) both A and B are correct.

Question 20

Joseph de Maistre believed that

A) the French Revolution was a necessary step on the path to a truly free society.
B) the aristocracy must compromise with the working class in order to outvote the liberals.
C) society needs monarchy, aristocracy, and religion to keep people's selfish desires in check.
D) the best way to promote the public interest is to let people pursue their private interests.
E) both A and D are correct.

Question 21

Neoconservatives like Irving Kristol are usually people who

A) favor capitalism but fear that it weakens the discipline necessary for a strong society.
B) object to all government interference in economic matters.
C) favor levelling programs in order to give the benefits of conservative planning to the poor.
D) believe that other conservatives have put too much stress on the need to fight communism.
E) prefer Eminem's singing to that of Renee Fleming.

Question 22

Burke and most conservatives believe that society is best described as

A) an organism in which individual people are the parts.
B) an atomistic collection of individuals who are largely independent of one another.
C) the result of a social contract between the living members of society.
D) the combination of prejudice and prescription that leads to the levelling of achieved status.
E) a necessary evil.

Question 23

As an ideology, conservatism began as a reaction against the liberal elements of the

A) American Revolution.
B) Glorious Revolution.
C) French Revolution.
D) Russian Revolution.
E) Velvet Revolution.

Question 24

One point on which all conservatives have agreed is their opposition to

A) capitalism.
B) communism.
C) a true natural aristocracy.
D) democracy in any form.
E) multiple-choice examinations.

Question 25

Conservatives are generally in favor of

A) levelling.
B) allowing people to engage in original sin.
C) private ownership of property.
D) hereditary aristocracy.
E) prayer in schools.

Question 26

According to Edmund Burke, a representative ought to act as the voters'

A) trustee.
B) delegate.
C) conscience.
D) deputy.
E) surrogate.

Question 27

Which of the following most closely resembles Edmund Burke's political philosophy?

A) classical liberalism
B) traditional conservatism
C) Social Darwinism
D) neoconservatism
E) communitarianism

Question 28

The kind of conservatism that is usually associated with an aggressive foreign policy, such as the war in Iraq, is

A) neoconservatism.
B) communitarianism.
C) paleoconservatism.
D) the religious right.
E) individualist conservatism.

Question 29

Irving Kristol and James Q. Wilson have been considered

A) classical conservatives.
B) neoconservatives.
C) religious right conservatives.
D) libertarians.
E) none of the above.

Question 30

Modern conservatives such as Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater hold which of the following rights to be most important?

A) privacy rights
B) civil rights
C) communal rights
D) property rights
E) none of the above

Question 31

Burke drew a sharp distinction between

A) reform and revolution.
B) innovation and revolution.
C) revolution and rebellion.
D) reform and innovation.
E) none of the above is correct.

Question 32

Burke was sharply critical of which of the following revolutions?

A) American
B) French
C) Russian
D) Chinese
E) all of the above

Question 33

The American group whose members are gay, conservative, and Republican are the

A) Gay Conservatives of America.
B) Pink Panther Republicans.
C) Conservative Republicans USA.
D) Log Cabin Republicans.
E) no conservative Republicans are gay.

Question 34

The phrase "the politics of imperfection" best describes the skeptical view of which of the following?

A) Marxism
B) modern conservatism
C) libertarianism
D) classical conservatism
E) none of the above

Question 35

Which kind(s) of conservative is (are) most likely to advocate the extensive use of American military power abroad?

A) religious right conservatives
B) Burkean or traditional conservatives
C) neoconservatives
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 36

Within the ranks of American conservatives there are deep divisions and differences between

A) neoconservatives and fiscal conservatives.
B) religious right conservatives and libertarians or lib-cons.
C) traditional or Burkean conservatives and neoconservatives.
D) all of the above are correct.
E) none of the above is correct.

Question 37

Classical conservatives favor unrestricted liberty and all-out competition within the free market.

Question 38

Edmund Burke believed that freedom, like fire, is good only when limited or contained.

Question 39

Burke believed that elected representatives should always vote as their constituents want them to.

Question 40

Burke praised the French Revolution for its egalitarian or levelling effects.

Question 41

Burke believed society should be led by a natural aristocracy.

Question 42

Burke believed that reason, not tradition, should be our guide.

Question 43

As a general rule, Burke was opposed to political reform and social change.

Question 44

Burke was a leading critic of the American Revolution.

Question 45

Burke was a leading critic of the French Revolution.

Question 46

The late U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater represented religious right conservatism.

Question 47

As a conservative, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck opposed state-sponsored social welfare programs.

Question 48

Joseph de Maistre opposed the French Revolution because of its assault on "throne and altar."

Question 49

All conservatives are enthusiastic supporters of laissez-faire economics.

Question 50

Religious right conservatives are opposed to abortion and to prayer in public schools.

Question 51

For modern or individualist conservatives, private-property rights are secondary to civil rights.

Question 52

Neoconservatives Daniel Bell and Irving Kristol defend an unregulated capitalist economy.

Question 53

Members of the modern "Tea Party" movement contend that the Republican Party has moved too far to the right and should become more moderate or centrist.

Question 54

Conservatives are uniformly opposed to same-sex marriage.

Question 55

Some religious right conservatives claim that disasters such as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina are divine punishment for immoral behavior.

Question 56

Conservatives generally believe that social conditions can be explained in part by innate human imperfection.

Question 57

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Eighteenth-century classical conservative who saw society as an intergenerational partnership:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 58

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Twentieth-century conservative who warned of the dangers of a revolt of the masses:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 59

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-French reactionary and critic of the rights of man:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 60

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Said that society is made up of little platoons:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 61

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Eighteenth-century conservative who distinguished piecemeal reform from radical innovation:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 62

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-British Prime Minister who developed the idea of Tory democracy:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 63

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Believed that the purpose of statesmanship was to preserve and conserve the social fabric:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 64

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-English poet and classical conservative:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 65

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-British Prime Minister who criticized wet hanky conservatives:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 66

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-The form of conservatism that is closest to neoclassical liberalism (or libertarianism):

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 67

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Conservatives say that these policies will bring down the rich without really raising the poor:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 68

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-Term for Joseph de Maistre and others who want to return to an earlier form of society:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 69

Matching
Fill in the blanks with the letter corresponding to the names or terms listed below. Some names or terms may be used more than once and others not at all.
-The belief that pride, greed, and other failings are permanent features of human nature:

A)Joseph de Maistre
B)William Wordsworth
C)José Ortega y Gasset
D)William Graham Sumner
E)Edmund Burke
F)decentering
G)individualist
H) Tory democracy
I)Michael Oakeshott
J)Margaret Thatcher
K)Benjamin Disraeli
L)John Dewey
M)levelling
N) neoconservatism
O) reactionary
P) original sin

Question 70

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-Tory democracy

Question 71

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-little platoons

Question 72

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-neoconservatives

Question 73

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-individualist conservatives

Question 74

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-the religious right

Question 75

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-cultural conservatives

Question 76

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-original sin

Question 77

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-reactionaries

Question 78

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-the true natural aristocracy

Question 79

Identify and explain the significance of the following names or terms.
-prejudice

Question 80

Who uses the imagery of the social fabric, and for what purpose(s)?