Democratic institutions are devices for reconciling social order with individual freedom and initiative, and for making the immediate power of a country's rulers subject to the ultimate power of the ruled. The fact that, in Western Europe and America, these devices have worked, all things considered, not too bad is proof enough that the eighteenth-century optimists were not entirely wrong. Given a fair chance, I repeat; for the fair chance is an indispensable prerequisite. No people that pass abruptly from a state of subservience under the rule of a despot to the completely unfamiliar state of political independence can be said to have a fair chance of being able to govern themselves democratically. Liberalism flourishes in an atmosphere of prosperity and declines as declining prosperity make it necessary for the government to intervene ever more frequently and drastically in the affairs of its subjects. Over-population and over-organization are two conditions which ... deprive a society of a fair chance of making democratic institutions work effectively. We see, then, that there are certain historical, economic, demographic, and technological conditions that make it very hard for Jefferson's rational animals, endowed by nature with inalienable rights and an innate sense of justice, to exercise their reason, claim their rights and act justly within a democratically organized society. We in the West have been supremely fortunate in having been given a fair chance of making the great experiment in self-government. Unfortunately, it now looks as though, owing to recent changes in our circumstances, this infinitely precious fair chance were being, little by little, taken 30 away from us.
1. The author’s primary purpose is apparently toA. Explain a requirement and introduce a warning about that requirement
B. Argue for the limitation of a certain form of government
C. Define the conditions for social order
D. Advocate liberalism in government of a certain era
E. Credit certain thinkers with foresight
2. The ‘infinitely precious fair chance’ highlighted in the last sentence, according to the author isA. Unlikely to emerge in an atmosphere of liberalism
B. Incompatible with Jefferson’s views
C. Vitiated in an atmosphere of prosperity
D. An essential precondition for the success of democracy
E. Only possible in a large, advanced and highly organized society
3. The author’s attitude to the way democratic institutions have functioned in Western Europe and America can best be described asA. Deliberate neutrality
B. Cautious approval
C. Qualified disapproval
D. Wholehearted endorsement
E. Mocking disdain
07 Jan 2022, 07:27
62% (01:57) correct
