Liberalism Test your knowledge Rowena Hammal. Liberalism: Test your knowledge How to take the quiz Give yourself one mark for each correct answer, unless.

LiberalismTest your knowledge

Rowena Hammal

Liberalism: Test your knowledge

How to take the quiz

• Give yourself one mark for each correct answer, unless more than one answer is

required.

• Keep track of your marks as you go, and add up your score at the end.

• Remember, this is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of everything you

need to know, but it is a good way to gauge how well your revision is progressing.


Principles (part 1)

1. Where does liberalism sit on the political spectrum?

2. What attitude do liberals take towards different religions, different genders and

different ethnicities?

3. Why is classical liberalism suspicious of governments?

4. What mechanism ensures that the power of a government is limited?

5. Which economic system does liberalism support?


Principles (part 2)

6. What is the term for a society in which many different groups, ideas, cultures and

beliefs are allowed to co-exist?

7. If a person is free of legal constraints, even if they may be limited by their socio-

economic status, they can be said to possess which type of liberty?

8. Which philosophy advocates ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ in

society?

9. Which type of liberalism advocated free trade and a small state?

10. Which type of liberalism promoted greater equality of opportunity?


Important figures


Problems posed by liberalism (part 1)

1. What five-word phrase explains the problem posed to liberalism by democracy?

2. Why might a referendum be illiberal?



3. Why was John Maynard Keynes arguably not a true liberal?

4. Why is there a tension between freedom and equality?



5. Fill in the gaps:

John Rawls suggested that, in order to decide how far society should strike a

balance between freedom and equality, people should imagine that they are

behind a ‘_____ ___ ______________’ which prevents them from knowing how

fortunate they will be during their life.

6. Why did the Liberal Party, and later the Liberal Democrats, both struggle to

maintain a unique identity?


AnswersPrinciples (part 1)

1. Where does liberalism sit on the political spectrum? In the centre.

2. What attitude do liberals take towards different religions, different genders and

different ethnicities? They are tolerant of difference and supportive of equality.

3. Why is classical liberalism suspicious of governments? Governments place limits

upon the freedom of individuals.

4. What mechanism is designed to ensure that the power of a government is

limited? A liberal constitution.

5. Which economic system does liberalism support? Capitalism.

Total = 5 marks


AnswersPrinciples (part 2)

6. What is the term for a society in which many different groups, ideas, cultures and

beliefs are allowed to co-exist? Pluralist.

7. If a person is free of legal constraints, even if they may be limited by their socio-

economic status, they can be said to possess which type of liberty? Negative

liberty.

8. Which philosophy advocates ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ in

society? Utilitarianism.

9. Which type of liberalism advocated free trade and a small state? Classical

liberalism.

10. Which type of liberalism promoted greater equality of opportunity? New

liberalism, which was followed by welfare or social liberalism.

Total = 5 marks


AnswersImportant figures


AnswersProblems posed by liberalism (part 1)

1. What five-word phrase explains the problem posed to liberalism by democracy?

The tyranny of the majority. (1 mark for correct phrase)

2. Why might a referendum be illiberal? Allowing people to vote on specific issues

would appear to be liberal at first glance, as they are being given freedom of

choice by the government. However, minorities may be outvoted by the majority,

even though the issue in question may affect minorities more. A good example is

gay marriage. Had gay marriage been put to a referendum, it might well have

been rejected by a heterosexual majority who already enjoyed the freedom to

marry.

(1 mark for correct general explanation)



3. Why was John Maynard Keynes arguably not a true liberal? This depends on how

you define a liberal. He was certainly not a follower of classical liberal economics,

which aims to keep state intervention to a minimum and allow market forces to

operate freely. Keynes advocated massive public borrowing by the state in order

to regenerate the British economy after the Second World War. This provided the

economic background for the introduction of welfare liberalism.


4. Why is there a tension between freedom and equality? Greater equality can only

be achieved by taking more from those who have more, and giving it to those who

have less. This infringes upon the freedom of the former, although ultimately it

promotes the freedom of the latter, as they will no longer be limited by poverty.




5. John Rawls suggested that, in order to decide how far society should strike a

balance between freedom and equality, people should imagine that they are

behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ which prevents them from knowing how fortunate they

will be during their life. (1 mark for correct phrase)

6. Why did the Liberal Party, and later the Liberal Democrats, both struggle to

maintain a unique identity? Both the Conservatives and Labour have adopted

many liberal principles.

(1 mark for correct general answer)


Results

Add up your marks to discover your total score out of 26.

26–24: You know your stuff. Congratulations.

23–20: Sound understanding though a few kinks to iron out.

19–15: Very good on the basics, but get back to your notes to improve your

understanding.

14–10: Listen, can you hear that? Your textbook is calling you! It’s feeling

neglected.

9–5: You need to get this stuff to stick in your brain. Read through your

notes, wait a week, take this quiz again.

4–0: Have you lost your folder? Were you in class? Don’t wait: start learning

this topic now. You can catch up if you put your mind to it.

Liberalism Test your knowledge Rowena Hammal. Liberalism: Test your knowledge How to take the quiz Give yourself one mark for each correct answer, unless.

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