On Liberty Study Guide

1. Mill believes that the worst type of tyranny is:

• tyranny of the government
• tyranny of the majority
• tyranny of the minority
• tyranny of the rich

2. How does Mill view a democracy?

• ineffective because minorities are still omitted
• what more countries need
• a puppet regime for fascists
• as the power of the people over themselves

3. Who was Mill's self-proclaimed biggest supporter?

• his father, the utilitarian James Mill
• The King of England
• Jeremy Bentham
• His wife, Harriet Taylor

4. Where was Mill from?

• United States of America
• England
• Germany
• France

5. Society can impose its influence on individuals if:

• never, no matter what
• an individual is a risk to others
• they deem it necessary
• an individual is putting himself in danger

6. Who should not be independent of society's rule?

• children and undeveloped minds
• minorities
• women
• everyone

7. If a person is able to, and does not stop harm from coming to another, is he/she responsible?

• yes
• n/a
• no
• n/a

8. Society, as Mill sees it, encourages:

• poverty
• conformity
• uniqueness
• violence

9. An opinion should be heard if it is:

• right
• wrong
• intelligent
• all of the above, any opinion should be heard

10. The majority opinion is not necessarily right because:

• the majority is trying to hurt the minority
• they have no absolute certainty; they need to listen to others
• they are of a lower, less intelligent class
• the majority is always wrong