The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Question

Part A
Based on “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” choose the phrase that best describes people’s ability or inability to make good decisions.

A. naturally skilled
B. mentally unprepared
C. biologically incapable
D. psychologically predisposed
Part B
Which sentence from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

A. John Stuart Mill wrote in 1859 that the only justifiable reason for interfering in someone's freedom of action was to prevent harm to others.
B. You can stop someone from crossing a bridge that is broken, he said, because you can be sure no one wants to plummet into the river.
C. Now we see that these errors aren't a function of bad character, but of our shared cognitive inheritance.
D. It's not always worth it to intervene, but sometimes, where the costs are small and the benefit is large, it is.

Answer 1

Part A: The phrase that best describes people’s ability or inability to make good decisions is B. mentally unprepared.

Part B: The sentence from the text that best supports the answer to Part A is C. Now we see that these errors aren't a function of bad character, but of our shared cognitive inheritance.