Which one of the following statements reflects the best explanation of the above passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) It takes individuals out of a state of isolation and gives them a chance to participate in the common endeavour.
The line pictures voluntary associations standing between a weak individual and a strong State. They play this 'buffer' role by drawing isolated individuals into joint action, giving them a strength they lack alone — the explanation in (c).
- ✗ (a) The passage calls the State 'potentially powerful'; it does not say the State cannot enforce its will. The option shifts the focus to the State's weakness.
- ✗ (b) This describes what a cooperative does for its members' welfare; it does not explain the buffer role between the individual and the State.
- ✓ (c) Alone, the individual is 'relatively powerless' before the State. Voluntary associations bring individuals together to act in common, taking them out of isolation — that collective strength is what makes them a buffer.
- ✗ (d) Multiple loyalties may follow from membership of many groups, but the quotation is about protection between the individual and the State, not divided allegiance.
Remember · For a one-line quotation, explain its key image (here the 'buffer'); options about side effects or other institutions miss it.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·