Political Ideas and What They Actually Claim · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Steel opinions before you argue them

Civics & Economics · Government · ages 16-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which sentence states the liberal claim behind the American founding?

    • People hold natural rights and government needs their consent
    • Order requires obeying rulers by birth
    • Freedom grows only when voting ends

  2. What is a political ideology, honestly stated?

    • An insult thrown at opponents
    • A mood with no fixed content
    • A position with a claim about the state

  3. The 1970s conservative movement claimed smaller government would bring more freedom.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. On a pollution rule, which pairing shows each tradition arguing its own case?

    • Liberals calling for fewer rules and lower taxes
    • Conservatives demanding more regulation to cut inequality
    • Liberals backing regulation and conservatives backing markets

  5. Funding food assistance through taxes is which kind of policy?

    • A toll good anyone pays to use
    • A redistributive policy moving resources via taxes
    • A private good owned and used up

  6. One state votes eagerly and trusts its government to fix problems. Which culture fits?

    • Moralistic, expecting government to serve the common good
    • Traditionalistic, run by long-standing elites
    • Individualistic, wanting only night-watchman rules

  7. You must argue against a view you dislike. What should you state first?

    • A fair steelman the supporter would accept
    • A weak parody that is easy to mock
    • A quote taken out of context

  8. Why do left and right mean different things in different states?

    • They prove one side is careless
    • They show the same words can start from different answers
    • They prove culture never changes
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Steel opinions before you argue them W1-mt_NhqCoZs875-s1

  1. People hold natural rights and government needs their consent · The founding liberal claim is that legitimate power rests on consent to protect life and liberty.
  2. A position with a claim about the state · An ideology states what humans are like and what the state is for, in terms supporters accept.
  3. True · Conservatives argued freedom grows when government shrinks and communities and markets decide more.
  4. Liberals backing regulation and conservatives backing markets · Each side applies its claim: government protection against market freedom on the same issue.
  5. A redistributive policy moving resources via taxes · Funding food assistance through taxes moves resources between groups, which is redistribution.
  6. Moralistic, expecting government to serve the common good · High turnout plus faith in government action for all is the moralistic pattern.
  7. A fair steelman the supporter would accept · Honest disagreement starts from the strongest version of the rival claim.
  8. They show the same words can start from different answers · Big government sounds like help in one culture and meddling in another, so left and right shift by place.
Worksheet · LightMySky