For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism had not faced serious challenges in the United Line States. Writing in the early twentieth cen- (5) tury, Progressive historians sympathized with the battles waged by farmers and small producers against large capitalists in the late nineteenth century, but they did not question the widespread acceptance (10) of laissez-faire (unregulated) capitalism throughout American history. Similarly, Louis Hartz, who sometimes disagreed with the Progressives, argued that Americans accepted laissez-faire capitalism (15) without challenge because they lacked a feudal, precapitalist past. Recently, however, some scholars have argued that even though laissez-faire became the prevailing ethos in nineteen-century (20) America, it was not accepted without struggle. Laissez-faire capitalism, they suggest, clashed with existing religious and communitarian norms that imposed moral constraints on acquisitiveness to (25) protect the weak from the predatory, the strong from corruption, and the entire culture from materialist excess. Buttressed by mercantilist notions that government should be both regulator and promoter (30) of economic activity, these norms persisted long after the American Revolution helped unleash the economic forces that produced capitalism. These scholars argue that even in the late nineteenth (35) century, with the government’s role in the economy considerably diminished, laissez-faire had not triumphed completely. Hard times continued to revive popular demands for regulating busi- (40) ness and softening the harsh edges of laissez-faire capitalism.

Q36: According to the passage, the Progressive historians mentioned in line 5 and the scholars mentioned in line 17 disagree with regard to which of the following? A. Whether laissez-faire became the predominant ethos in the nineteenth-century United States B. Whether moral restraints on acquisitiveness were necessary in the nineteencentury United States C. The economic utility of mercantilist notions of government D. The nature of the historical conditions necessary for the development of laissezfaire capitalism in the nineteen-century United States E. The existence of significant opposition to the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the nineteen-century United States

MINE A

ANS E

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