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Prelims 2018 paper

UPSC CSE Prelims 2018 · GS Paper I · Question 40 · Making of the Constitution, Preamble & features

विधि और स्वाधीनता के बीच सबसे उपयुक्त संबंध को, निम्नलिखित में से कौन प्रतिबिम्बित करता है ?

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper I, Question 40 — Making of the Constitution, Preamble & features.

विधि और स्वाधीनता के बीच सबसे उपयुक्त संबंध को, निम्नलिखित में से कौन प्रतिबिम्बित करता है ?

Read this question in English

Which one of the following reflects the most appropriate relationship between law and liberty?

(a) If there are more laws, there is less liberty. · (b) If there are no laws, there is no liberty. · (c) If there is liberty, laws have to be made by the people. · (d) If laws are changed too often, liberty is in danger.

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) यदि विधि नहीं हैं तो स्वाधीनता भी नहीं है ।

Law and liberty go together: without laws, nobody's freedom is protected from the coercion of others, so there is no real liberty. Law restrains harmful acts and thereby secures the freedom of everyone.

  • ✓ (b) Political theory treats law as a support for freedom: legal restraints are needed so that one group cannot coercively impose its views on another, and law protects each person's freedom.
  • ✗ (a) This treats law as the enemy of liberty. Only unnecessary or unjustified constraints reduce freedom; the test is whether a restriction is necessary and justified, not how many laws exist.
  • ✗ (c) Laws being made by the people is a feature of democratic government and positive liberty, but it does not describe the basic relationship between law and liberty.

Remember · Law and liberty are not opposites: laws protect liberty. Where there is no law, the strong dominate and there is no liberty for others.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE Prelims 2018, Q40 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/prelims/2018/q40

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