2012 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2012 · CSAT

Question 33: Reading Comprehension

Passage – 2 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “Most champions of democracy have been…”Passage beginning “Most champions of democracy have been…”

According to the passage, why is a serious tension perceived between democracy and development by the detractors of democracy ?

aDemocracy and development are distinct and separate goals.
bEconomic growth can be promoted successfully without pursuing a democratic system of governance.
cNon-democratic regimes deliver economic growth faster and far more successfully than democratic ones.
dAll the statements (a), (b) and (c) given above are correct in this context.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

The detractors of democracy see a tension because several East Asian countries achieved rapid economic growth through the 1970s and 1980s, and even later, without pursuing democracy. So, they argue, growth can be had without democracy and a country must choose between the two. That is option (b). Option (a) is how democracy's champions see the two goals, as good but separate. Option (c) overstates the case: the passage says growth was achieved without democracy, not that non-democracies deliver it faster and far more successfully.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong. This is how democracy's champions see the two goals; it is not the detractors' reason for tension.
  • (b) Right. Growth achieved without democracy, as in East Asia, fed the claim that one must choose.
  • (c) Wrong. The passage does not claim non-democracies grow faster or far more successfully.
  • (d) Wrong. Only (b) is the detractors' reason.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.