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Democratic institutions are devices for reconciling social order wit
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07 Jan 2022, 07:27
07 Jan 2022, 07:27
Expert Reply
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.
Question 1
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Question Stats:
62% (01:57) correct
38% (02:44) wrong based on 13 sessions
Show timer Statistics
1. The author’s primary purpose is apparently to
A. 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
Question 2
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Question Stats:
57% (00:53) correct
43% (01:05) wrong based on 7 sessions
Show timer Statistics
2. The ‘infinitely precious fair chance’ highlighted in the last sentence, according to the author is
A. 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
Question 3
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Question Stats:
83% (00:26) correct
17% (00:12) wrong based on 6 sessions
Show timer Statistics
3. The author’s attitude to the way democratic institutions have functioned in Western Europe and America can best be described as
A. Deliberate neutrality
B. Cautious approval
C. Qualified disapproval
D. Wholehearted endorsement
E. Mocking disdain
Re: Democratic institutions are devices for reconciling social order wit
[#permalink]
09 Jan 2022, 19:09
09 Jan 2022, 19:09
3
Overall the main idea for me is that-
"There are some conditions required for an independent rule from despot's, even if their people attain such freedom, they will not be able to maintain the social order"
Is this a correct rephrasing of the main idea of the passage?
q1 - The author’s primary purpose is apparently to
A - Explain a requirement and introduce a warning about that requirement - close to the main idea I have discussed.
B - Argue for the limitation of a certain form of government - I was stuck with this and A but A made more sense to me .
C - Define the conditions for social order - not the main idea as per my rephrasing.
D - Advocate liberalism in the government of a certain era - I don't think the author is advocating anything here, he just describes selfrule vs rule by official
E - Credit certain thinkers with foresight - way off the scope
q2 - The ‘infinitely precious fair chance’ highlighted in the last sentence, according to the author is
A - Unlikely to emerge in an atmosphere of liberalism - too strong - wrong
B - Incompatible with Jefferson’s views - probably the opposite. - wrong
C - Vitiated in an atmosphere of prosperity - author says prosperity is declining(from the last sentence of passage) not the other way - wrong
D - An essential precondition for the success of democracy - can be evidenced from passage at Line 6 - "Given a...preqrequisite" - correct
E- Only possible in a large, advanced and highly organized society - we can't find evidence for advanced society else it works . so now this is also wrong.
q3 - The author’s attitude to the way democratic institutions have functioned in Western Europe and America can best be described as
The answer can be found in the last two sentences of the passage- The author is positive about the idea of self-rule in western Europe but in the last sentence, he says it might be declining.
A - Deliberate neutrality - not neutral - wrong
B - Cautious approval - looks good with our answer - so correct
C - Qualified disapproval - he liked it - so wrong
D - Wholehearted endorsement - extreme , remember that author also said it's declining - so wrong
E - Mocking disdain - again, he liked it - so wrong
Please correct me if my reasoning for any of these questions/answer choices is wrong. Thanks.
"There are some conditions required for an independent rule from despot's, even if their people attain such freedom, they will not be able to maintain the social order"
Is this a correct rephrasing of the main idea of the passage?
q1 - The author’s primary purpose is apparently to
A - Explain a requirement and introduce a warning about that requirement - close to the main idea I have discussed.
B - Argue for the limitation of a certain form of government - I was stuck with this and A but A made more sense to me .
C - Define the conditions for social order - not the main idea as per my rephrasing.
D - Advocate liberalism in the government of a certain era - I don't think the author is advocating anything here, he just describes selfrule vs rule by official
E - Credit certain thinkers with foresight - way off the scope
q2 - The ‘infinitely precious fair chance’ highlighted in the last sentence, according to the author is
A - Unlikely to emerge in an atmosphere of liberalism - too strong - wrong
B - Incompatible with Jefferson’s views - probably the opposite. - wrong
C - Vitiated in an atmosphere of prosperity - author says prosperity is declining(from the last sentence of passage) not the other way - wrong
D - An essential precondition for the success of democracy - can be evidenced from passage at Line 6 - "Given a...preqrequisite" - correct
E- Only possible in a large, advanced and highly organized society - we can't find evidence for advanced society else it works . so now this is also wrong.
q3 - The author’s attitude to the way democratic institutions have functioned in Western Europe and America can best be described as
The answer can be found in the last two sentences of the passage- The author is positive about the idea of self-rule in western Europe but in the last sentence, he says it might be declining.
A - Deliberate neutrality - not neutral - wrong
B - Cautious approval - looks good with our answer - so correct
C - Qualified disapproval - he liked it - so wrong
D - Wholehearted endorsement - extreme , remember that author also said it's declining - so wrong
E - Mocking disdain - again, he liked it - so wrong
Please correct me if my reasoning for any of these questions/answer choices is wrong. Thanks.
gmatclubot
Re: Democratic institutions are devices for reconciling social order wit [#permalink]
09 Jan 2022, 19:09
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