Libertarian Purity Test
by Bryan Caplan

This is the Libertarian Purity Test, which is intended to measure how libertarian you are. It isn't intended to be any sort of McCarthyite purging device -- just a form of entertainment, hopefully thought-provoking. I like it a lot better than the more famous "World's Shortest Political Quiz" because I haven't stated the questions with any intent to give an upward bias to a test-taker's score, and because it gives a clearer breakdown between hard and soft-core libertarians. Enjoy, suggest your friends try it out, and see how you compare to other test-takers...

A note on meaning: The word privatized as used throughout the survey means that a given government service is henceforth supplied by the free market and paid for by consumers. It is distinguished from sub-contracting in which the government uses tax money to hire a private firm to provide a government service.

Part I (1 point each)

1. Are taxes too high?
   Yes
   No
   
2. Is government spending too high?
   Yes
   No
   
3. Are we over-regulated?
   Yes
   No
   
4. Are you for free trade?
   Yes
   No
   
5. Should the minimum wage be abolished?
   Yes
   No
   
6. Should rent control be abolished?
   Yes
   No
   
7. Are zoning laws too strict?
   Yes
   No
   
8. Do we spend too much on Medicare?
   Yes
   No
   
9. Do we spend too much on Social Security?
   Yes
   No
   
10. Should we privatize the Post Office?
    Yes
    No
    
11. Would school vouchers be an improvement over government schools?
    Yes
    No
    
12. Should we relax immigration laws?
    Yes
    No
    
13. Would housing vouchers be an improvement over government housing?
    Yes
    No
    
14. Should the government sell off more of the public lands?
    Yes
    No
    
15. Are worker safety regulations too strict?
    Yes
    No
    
16. Does drug-approval take too long?
    Yes
    No
    
17. Do you think we spend too much on anti-poverty programs?
    Yes
    No
    
18. Is occupational licensing (for doctors, plumbers, and other professions) too strict?
    Yes
    No
    
19. Does the government spend too much on higher education?
    Yes
    No
    
20. Does the Federal Reserve have too much discretionary power?
    Yes
    No
    
21. Should marijuana be legalized?
    Yes
    No
    
22. Should all sex between consenting adults be legal -- even for money?
    Yes
    No
    
23. Do you believe in freedom of expression for books, newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, and so on, even for offensive and unpopular views and subject matters?
    Yes
    No
    
24. Should private clubs have sole authority to select their own members, even if they are discriminatory?
    Yes
    No
    
25. Are you against national service?
    Yes
    No
    
26. Are you against the draft?
    Yes
    No
    
27. Does the U.S. intervene too much in other countries?
    Yes
    No
    
28. Should the military budget be cut?
    Yes
    No
    
29. Should the U.S. refuse to pay for the defense of allies that are rich enough to defend themselves?
    Yes
    No
    
30. If it has to fight a war, should the U.S. try harder to avoid civilian targets?
    Yes
    No
    

    Part II (3 points each)

31. Should taxes be cut by 50% or more?
    Yes
    No
    
32. Should spending be cut by 50% or more?
    Yes
    No
    
33. Would you abolish at least half of existing federal regulatory agencies?
    Yes
    No
    
34. Should we abolish anti-trust laws?
    Yes
    No
    
35. Should we abolish public schools and universities?
    Yes
    No
    
36. Should we abolish welfare?
    Yes
    No
    
37. Should we abolish Social Security?
    Yes
    No
    
38. Should we abolish Medicare?
    Yes
    No
    
39. Should all of the public lands be privatized?
    Yes
    No
    
40. Should we privatize sanitation, fire, and other local services?
    Yes
    No
    
41. Should immigration laws be abolished?
    Yes
    No
    
42. Should the FDA and medical licensing be abolished?
    Yes
    No
    
43. Should all of the Federal Reserve's discretionary powers be eliminated and the monetary base frozen?
    Yes
    No
    
44. Should we abolish worker safety regulation?
    Yes
    No
    
45. Should the Supreme Court strike down economic regulation as unconstitutional?
    Yes
    No
    
46. Should all drugs be legalized for adults?
    Yes
    No
    
47. Should anti-discrimination laws be abolished?
    Yes
    No
    
48. Should the military budget be cut by at least 75%?
    Yes
    No
    
49. Should the U.S. withdraw completely from Europe, Asia, and other foreign bases?
    Yes
    No
    
50. Is bombing civilians in an enemy country morally equivalent to murder?
    Yes
    No
    

    Part III (5 points each)

51. Should all taxes be abolished?
    Yes
    No
    
52. Should highways and roads be privatized?
    Yes
    No
    
53. Should the Fed be abolished and replaced with free banking and privately-issued money?
    Yes
    No
    
54. Should all legislation be replaced by judge-made law, arbitration, and other private rule-suppliers?
    Yes
    No
    
55. Is all government inherently evil?
    Yes
    No
    
56. Is government an unnecessary evil?
    Yes
    No
    
57. Should police be privatized?
    Yes
    No
    
58. Should the courts be privatized?
    Yes
    No
    
59. Should the law itself be privatized?
    Yes
    No
    
60. Should the state be disarmed and its military disbanded?
    Yes
    No
    
61. Is it morally permissible to exercise "vigilante justice," even against government leaders?
    Yes
    No
    
62. Is all government essentially exploitation of the productive members of society for the benefit of a parasitic ruling elite?
    Yes
    No
    
63. Should the state be abolished?
    Yes
    No
    
64. Would you call yourself an "anarcho-capitalist?"
    Yes
    No