2015 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2015 · CSAT

Question 62: Reading Comprehension

Passage – 2 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “No Right is absolute, exclusive or…”

In the light of the argument in the above passage, which one of the following statements is the most convincing explanation ?

aThe Right of personal property is a Natural Right duly supported by statutes and scriptures.
bPersonal property is a theft and an instrument of exploitation. The Right of personal property is therefore violative of economic justice.
cThe Right of personal property is violative of distributive justice and negates the principle of cooperation.
dThe comprehensive idea of economic justice demands that the Right of each person to acquisition of property has to be reconciled with that of others.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

The passage says no right is absolute or inviolable, and that the right of personal property must be seen in a wider setting, uniting liberty and equality, and both with cooperation. The explanation that fits is that economic justice requires each person's right to acquire property to be reconciled with the rights of others. Calling property a natural right backed by statute ignores the limits stressed, while calling it theft or opposed to cooperation is an extreme the passage does not take.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: treating property as a natural right ignores the passage's point that no right is absolute.
  • (b) Wrong: calling property theft is far stronger than the passage, which only wants it balanced.
  • (c) Wrong: the passage wants property to be united with cooperation, not to negate it.
  • (d) Right: the right to property must be balanced with the equal claims of others.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2015, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.