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CSAT 2021 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2021 · Question 34 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above?

Passage—4

Aristocratic government ruins itself by limiting too narrowly the circle within which power is confined; oligarchic government ruins itself by the incautious scramble for immediate wealth. But even democracy ruins itself by excess of democracy. Its basic principle is the equal right of all to hold office and determine public policy. This is, at first glance, a delightful arrangement; it becomes disastrous because the people are not properly equipped by education to select the best rulers and the wisest courses. The people have no understanding and only repeat what their rulers are pleased to tell them. Such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy.

— Plato

CSAT 2021 · Q34

Reading comprehension Easy

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Any form of government tends to deteriorate by excess of its basic principle.

Plato shows aristocracy, oligarchy and democracy each ruining itself by overdoing the very principle that defines it — democracy 'by excess of democracy'. That shared pattern is the crux, option (b).

  • ✗ (a) True in general but not the point; the passage explains how each form destroys itself.
  • ✓ (b) Aristocracy narrows power too far, oligarchy scrambles for wealth, and democracy 'ruins itself by excess of democracy' — each through excess of its own principle.
  • ✗ (c) The passage blames poor education for democracy's failure but never claims education 'ensures' a perfect democracy.
  • ✗ (d) 'Necessary evil' is not stated; tyranny arises from excess, not as something inherent in every government.

Remember · When a passage runs parallel examples, the crux is the pattern they share, not any single example.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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