The conservative is not an extreme individualist. He may be willing to concede numerous arguments of the unqualified individualists, for his own respect for the dignity of the individual is not surpassed by that of any man. Yet he cannot agree to the full implications of individualism, which is based so he thinks on an incorrect appraisal of man, society, history and government. In his own way, the individualist is as much a perfectionist as the Socialist and with perfectionism the conservative can have no truck.
In particular, the conservative refuses to go all the way with economic individualism. His distrust of unfettered man, his recognition to groups, his sense of the complexity of the social process, his recognition of the real services that government can perform all these sentiments make it impossible for him to subscribe to the dogmas and shibboleths of economic individualism : laissez-faire, the negative state, enlightened self-interest, the law of supply and demand, the profit motive.
The conservative may occasionally have kind word for each of these notions, but he is careful to qualify his support by stating other, more important social truths. For example he does not for a moment deny the prominence of the profit motive, but he insists that it be recognised for the selfish thing it is and be kept within reasonable, socially imposed limits.
Ques 1. The conservative is :
(a) a perfectionist
(b) an economist
(c) a socialist
(d) None of these
Ques 2. The conservative is against economic individualism for all the following reasons except :
(a) he does not trust free men
(b) he believes in the authority of the government
(c)he believes in groups
(d) he feels that social processes are important
Ques 3. The author mentions all the following catchwords of economic individualism except :
(a) free trade
(b) the profit motive
(c) balance of trade
(d) the negative state
Ques 4. Which of the following words can replace the underlined word ‘truck’?
(a) Dealing
(b) Bargain
(c) Debate
(d) Transport
Ques 5. Which of the following statements is true?
(a) The socialist and the individualist tend to be broadly similar in their views
(b) The conservative believes that profit motive originates in selfishness
(c) The conservative is also an extreme individualist
(d) None of the above
Ques 6. Which of the following could be an appropriate title for the passage?
(a) Anarchy and freedom
(b) Progress and The conservating
(c) A conservative Apology
(d) The conservative stand
Answers :
(1) (d), (2) (d), (3) (a), (4) (a), (5) (b), (6) (d).