News Detail
A Freedom Test
With a new academic year, perhaps it is time for a test? Of course, your grade won’t matter, so you can relax.
My Big Question is a simple one: How much do you understand and value individual freedom?
Let’s start by examining Americans’ views on several topics involving freedom:
- Who has the primary responsibility for healthcare coverage?
About 60% of Americans say the federal government.
- Are your views of capitalism positive?
In 2022, 57% of Americans said yes.
- Are your views of socialism positive?
Also in 2022, 37% of Americans said yes.
Hopefully the remaining 6% didn’t say yes to both questions.
4. Should speech be free?
That simple question is more complicated; 91% of us believe that “free speech is an important part of American democracy,” but a smaller number—77%—say that “having different points of view, including those that are ‘bad’ or offensive to some, promotes healthy debate in society.” And, more than half of Americans think that the First Amendment goes “too far” in protecting the rights it guarantees. Most Americans (55%) now think the Federal government should restrict “false” information.
5. Should the minimum wage increase?
In our final assessment of American opinions, 74% of Americans supported a $20 minimum wage, which puts just a bit of sadness in the heart of every free market economics teacher (assuming economists actually have hearts).
The above questions are both normative and positive: each one obviously assesses people’s subjective beliefs; but those “normative” (or “opinion”) answers often emerge from “positive”—or objective—understandings, and misunderstandings, of reality.
One example: If you think (as one prospective senator from California suggested) that we need a $50/hour minimum wage, that subjective opinion is setting on a shaky foundation of factual, empirical, and logical untruths.
So, how well do you understand the foundations of a free society? The following quiz covers all sorts of foundational ideas, including the Judeo-Christian ethic, rights, constitutions, natural law, the invisible hand, and a motley assortment of other topics that are taught to students at Brookfield Academy.
Unlike the above questions, these questions have objective answers (with #10 being a possible exception). The correct answers just might make you look at the world a bit like an economist who understands enough history and political theory to be well rounded.
Go ahead and take it; it’s intended to start off easy.
Will you pass?
Freedom Philosophy Assessment
2. Which of the following are not a part of the 10 commandments?
a. Do not covet
b. Do not steal
c. Do unto others what you would have them do to you
d. Worship one God
3. Where do a person’s rights come from?
a. Themselves
b. God
c. The government
d. Society
4. Which of the following is not an example of a right listed in our constitution?
a. Free speech
b. Assistance of counsel
c. A trial by jury
d. Education
5. Which statement best defines what “natural law” is?
a. What all humans generally understand is right and what is wrong
b. What the natural world teaches us about what is right and wrong
c. Law which respects natural processes
d. Any law that isn’t artificial
6. In what sense are all people “created equal”?
a. We should all have roughly equal access to necessities
b. We all have the same rights
c. As infants, we are all basically the same
d. That we have roughly the same abilities
7. Locke suggested that individuals had a right to property because:
a. Societies bestow property rights on each individual
b. We each own our own body, and labor, and, therefore the goods we make or acquire
c. Each of us deserve property
d. Having property helps ensure prosperity
8. An example of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” would be:
a. A hurricane increasing the price of plywood
b. A computer making a typewriter obsolete
c. Global warming increasing the sales of air conditioning units
d. All of the above
e. None of the above; you can’t see the invisible hand
9. According to the 19th century thinker Frederick Bastiat, a “perversion” of the law would be:
a. A convict getting away with murder
b. A person using the law to get goods that he has no right to have
c. An innocent person being accused of a crime
d. The death penalty
10. Which statement best explains the idea of truth?
a. Truth emerges from people’s experience and is relative to various cultures and time periods
b. Truth emerges from an individual’s decisions
c. Truth is absolute, and unchanging
d. Telling the honest truth is always the best thing to do
11. What best describes the role of the price system in a market economy?
a. It rewards meritorious behavior
b. It gives us a way to tally economic activity
c. It directs resources to their most valued places
d. It helps keep prices stable and inflation low
12. What is the most basic understanding of the role of constitutions in world history?
a. They helped increase prosperity in the countries that adopted them
b. They helped restrain the rulers’ powers
c. They created modern democracies
d. They gave an important role for each country’s highest court
13. Which group of Chinese thinkers is the most likely to suggest a smaller role for the government?
a. Taoists
b. Maoists
c. Confucianists
d. Legalists
14. Who stated, “That government governs best which governs least”?
a. Washington
b. Jefferson
c. Jackson
d. Lincoln
e. Reagan
15. The idea of “general welfare” in our constitution means:
a. Giving assistance to the most needy citizens
b. Ensuring that the exercise of powers doesn’t favor certain groups
c. Giving Congress the power to redistribute incomes and wealth
d. Trick question: “general welfare” isn’t in the constitution
16. The idea of “classical liberalism” is best described as
17. The most important cause for involuntary unemployment is:
18. Pollution stems largely from
19. An example of a “negative” right is
20. The most important factor in ending child labor was
21. According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the role of a government?
Like all good tests, some questions are easy (#6), some more challenging (#19), with perhaps one or two of what students inaccurately call “trick questions” (#20). The final question has a three word answer.
——————————————————————————————————
Here is the answer key:
A, C, B, D, A, B, B, D, B, C
C, D, B, D, B, B, B, C, D, B
And, for question 21: “Protect individual rights.”
Perhaps you’ve seen those cringe-worthy video clips of young people unable to answer questions such as who America fought in the Mexican War. It’s fine to learn merely for the sake of learning, but think of the sorts of institutions—some poorly conceived, some elegant and beautiful—that foundational knowledge helps build. The Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously said that “those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” Perhaps add this: “Those who don’t know their rights are likely to lose them.”
I never hear people say they “oppose” freedom. But when one bores down into specifics, the results get a bit murky. If your score didn’t make the grade, don’t hesitate to do some more reading, and–of course–feel free to email me questions at bruce.rottman@brookfieldacademy.org.
Back
1. Which group in history first clearly defined the idea of one God?
a. The Jews
b. The Assyrians
c. The Romans
d. The Church
a. The Jews
b. The Assyrians
c. The Romans
d. The Church
2. Which of the following are not a part of the 10 commandments?
a. Do not covet
b. Do not steal
c. Do unto others what you would have them do to you
d. Worship one God
3. Where do a person’s rights come from?
a. Themselves
b. God
c. The government
d. Society
4. Which of the following is not an example of a right listed in our constitution?
a. Free speech
b. Assistance of counsel
c. A trial by jury
d. Education
5. Which statement best defines what “natural law” is?
a. What all humans generally understand is right and what is wrong
b. What the natural world teaches us about what is right and wrong
c. Law which respects natural processes
d. Any law that isn’t artificial
6. In what sense are all people “created equal”?
a. We should all have roughly equal access to necessities
b. We all have the same rights
c. As infants, we are all basically the same
d. That we have roughly the same abilities
7. Locke suggested that individuals had a right to property because:
a. Societies bestow property rights on each individual
b. We each own our own body, and labor, and, therefore the goods we make or acquire
c. Each of us deserve property
d. Having property helps ensure prosperity
8. An example of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” would be:
a. A hurricane increasing the price of plywood
b. A computer making a typewriter obsolete
c. Global warming increasing the sales of air conditioning units
d. All of the above
e. None of the above; you can’t see the invisible hand
9. According to the 19th century thinker Frederick Bastiat, a “perversion” of the law would be:
a. A convict getting away with murder
b. A person using the law to get goods that he has no right to have
c. An innocent person being accused of a crime
d. The death penalty
10. Which statement best explains the idea of truth?
a. Truth emerges from people’s experience and is relative to various cultures and time periods
b. Truth emerges from an individual’s decisions
c. Truth is absolute, and unchanging
d. Telling the honest truth is always the best thing to do
11. What best describes the role of the price system in a market economy?
a. It rewards meritorious behavior
b. It gives us a way to tally economic activity
c. It directs resources to their most valued places
d. It helps keep prices stable and inflation low
12. What is the most basic understanding of the role of constitutions in world history?
a. They helped increase prosperity in the countries that adopted them
b. They helped restrain the rulers’ powers
c. They created modern democracies
d. They gave an important role for each country’s highest court
13. Which group of Chinese thinkers is the most likely to suggest a smaller role for the government?
a. Taoists
b. Maoists
c. Confucianists
d. Legalists
14. Who stated, “That government governs best which governs least”?
a. Washington
b. Jefferson
c. Jackson
d. Lincoln
e. Reagan
15. The idea of “general welfare” in our constitution means:
a. Giving assistance to the most needy citizens
b. Ensuring that the exercise of powers doesn’t favor certain groups
c. Giving Congress the power to redistribute incomes and wealth
d. Trick question: “general welfare” isn’t in the constitution
16. The idea of “classical liberalism” is best described as
a. Using the state to make society more progressive
b. Free markets and limited government
c. The sort of economy classical Greece first developed
d. An advancement of social justice that has developed over time
17. The most important cause for involuntary unemployment is:
a. Automation
b. High labor prices
c. Insufficient total demand for goods
d. Underconsumption
18. Pollution stems largely from
a. Human greed
b. Inadequate enforcement of environmental laws
c. Unclear property rights
d. Overpopulation
19. An example of a “negative” right is
a. A state setting up “whites only” areas of public space
b. A $100/hour minimum wage
c. Allowing a NAZI rally in downtown Milwaukee
d. Outlawing purse snatching
20. The most important factor in ending child labor was
a. The Child Labor Act of 1849
b. The Industrial Revolution
c. Legislation passed in Parliament in the late 19th century
d. Legislation passed in Congress in the 20th century
21. According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the role of a government?
Like all good tests, some questions are easy (#6), some more challenging (#19), with perhaps one or two of what students inaccurately call “trick questions” (#20). The final question has a three word answer.
——————————————————————————————————
Here is the answer key:
A, C, B, D, A, B, B, D, B, C
C, D, B, D, B, B, B, C, D, B
And, for question 21: “Protect individual rights.”
Perhaps you’ve seen those cringe-worthy video clips of young people unable to answer questions such as who America fought in the Mexican War. It’s fine to learn merely for the sake of learning, but think of the sorts of institutions—some poorly conceived, some elegant and beautiful—that foundational knowledge helps build. The Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously said that “those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” Perhaps add this: “Those who don’t know their rights are likely to lose them.”
I never hear people say they “oppose” freedom. But when one bores down into specifics, the results get a bit murky. If your score didn’t make the grade, don’t hesitate to do some more reading, and–of course–feel free to email me questions at bruce.rottman@brookfieldacademy.org.
