Although we still celebrate the late twentieth-century as ‘victory of

Question

Although we still celebrate the late twentieth-century as ‘victory of democracy’, our understanding of what democracy entails in both theory and practice is increasingly subject to a variety of qualifying definitions, many of which now seem to devalue the role of elections and electoral accountability. This is so obviously seen in the politics of the European Union (EU), where the efforts to resolve conflicting issues in arenas where democratic authority is incapable as well as the efforts to depoliticize issues that relate to European integration have led to the development of a distinct political system in which the exercise of popular control and electoral accountability proves very difficult.

European Union’s democratic deficit within the context of the more widespread drift towards forms of decision-making eschews electoral accountability and popular democratic control. However, EU should not be seen as an exception or sui generis but best be regarded as a political system that has been constructed by national political leaders as a safeguarded sphere in which policy making can evade the constraints imposed by representative democracy. The rationale that lies behind it conforms closely to current thinking about the role of non-majoritarian institutions, on the one hand, and about the putative drawbacks of popular democracy, on the other.

Overall, EU can better be conceived as an outcome, or as the consequence of a longer developmental trajectory, in which the democratic process grows and mutates, and in which the mechanisms that allow democracy to function change and adapt. As the experience of the EU suggests, the combination of popular democracy and legitimacy is proving increasingly problematic in making key decisions - not only in Europe, but also further afield. To put it another way, the fact that conventional forms of democracy and representative government are difficult to apply at the level of the EU is not so much exceptional as symptomatic, and if we could democratize the European Union along conventional lines, then we probably wouldn’t need it in the first place.   1 
 A.OUT OF SCOPE: Decision- making process cannot be outgrowth of democracy, no mention of decision-making at various levels.
B.OUT OF SCOPE: There is no mention of who makes decisions in EU.
C.OUT OF SCOPE: Nothing has been mentioned in this regard.
D.CORRECT: Both para. 1 &2 explicitly mention that it's very difficult to exercise popular democracy in the EU.
E.OUT OF SCOPE: Decision-making at EU level is discussed, not on government (country) level. 
 1. From the passage, which of the following about the decision-making process in EU can be inferred as true?

A. It is an outgrowth of democracy, making up for the inability of a democratic process to make good decisions at various levels of an organization
B. Members who are not elected as decision makers by the general population of EU make key decisions.
C. The decisions made through the decision-making process are not popular with the electorate.
D. It does not adhere to the generally accepted norms of decision making in a strictly democratic manner.
E. It is the poster-child of a new form of decision making that is likely to become the de-facto standards for governments.

2 
 A.CORRECT: EU had to be formed as popular democracy was hampering key decision making.
B.INCONSISTENT: EU system is not a disruption but a deviation from popular democracy.
C.OUT OF SCOPE: The passage does not say whether decisions made by the EU are better.
D.OUT OF SCOPE: This cannot be inferred from the passage.
E.OUT OF SCOPE: There is no mention of the free world anywhere in the passage. 
 2. According to the passage the decision making process in EU is:

A. an evolution of current democratic process to suit decision making a level much higher than the democratic processes were designed for.
B. a disruption to the classical process of decision making that will likely spread to other continents.
C. an improvement that allows better decisions to be made.
D. a symptom of great changes to come that will transform democracy.
E. representation of a new form of thinking related to decision making in the free world.

3 
 A. OUT OF SCOPE: The purpose is not to talk about decline of electoral accountability. Also, EU is just one example of changing “democracy”. 
B. OUT OF SCOPE: The author has not presented any anecdotal examples.
C. CORRECT: Citing EU as example, the author elaborates on the idea of changing “democracy”. 
D. OUT OF SCOPE: There are no reasons mentioned for decline of democracy in Europe.
E. OUT OF SCOPE: There is no mention of any such cause in the passage. 
 3. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

A. describe the decline of electoral accountability in a world where countries combine to form unions.
B. provide anecdotal examples in which traditional democratic processes are unsuitable in the context of EU.
C. present an evolution of democratic decision making using an example.
D. describe the reasons for decline of democracy in Europe.
E. outline the causes that may lead to the rise of new political system in Europe.

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 44 Date: 01-Feb-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

AkshdeepS · Answer

European Union’s democratic deficit within the context of the more widespread drift towards forms of decision-making eschews electoral accountability and popular democratic control. However,  EU should not be seen as an exception or sui generis but best be regarded as a political system that has been constructed by national political leaders as a safeguarded sphere in which policy making can evade the constraints imposed by representative democracy.

Please refer the highlighted part.

aragonn · Answer

Total - 8:20
reading - 3:20; 1st - 1:30 ; 2nd - 2:05 ; 3rd - 1:25
All correct, though a tough passage. 700- level for sure.

1. From the passage, which of the following about the decision-making process in EU can be inferred as true?

As the experience of the EU suggests, the combination of popular democracy and legitimacy is proving increasingly problematic in making key decisions - not only in Europe, but also further afield.

A. It is an outgrowth of democracy, making up for the inability of a democratic process to make good decisions at various levels of an organization ---- when choice is complex break it in small. "outgrowth" is not good. "inability" is not good. 
B. Members who are not elected as decision makers by the general population of EU make key decisions. --- no 
C. The decisions made through the decision-making process are not popular with the electorate. ----- not popular is not to talk about. 
D. It does not adhere to the generally accepted norms of decision making in a strictly democratic manner. - small scope best choice among all.
E. It is the poster-child of a new form of decision making that is likely to become the de-facto standards for governments. ---- nope.
----------------------------------------------------

2. According to the passage the decision making process in EU is:
this one seems like same question as A. same lines to follow.
As the experience of the EU suggests, the combination of popular democracy and legitimacy is proving increasingly problematic in making key decisions - not only in Europe, but also further afield.

A. an evolution of current democratic process to suit decision making a level much higher than the democratic processes were designed for.

----------------------------------------------------------

3. The primary purpose of the passage is to:
A. describe the decline of electoral accountability in a world where countries combine to form unions. ---- its not just about the decline
B. provide anecdotal examples in which traditional democratic processes are unsuitable in the context of EU. --- not about anecdotal examples.
C. present an evolution of democratic decision making using an example. --- close. 
D. describe the reasons for decline of democracy in Europe. --- very small. 
E. outline the causes that may lead to the rise of new political system in Europe. ---- no

nirmalendu1 · Answer

3)Why is it about evolution of democratic decision making , as author gives an example of EU where decision making is not very democratic and author discusses the limitation of democracy. Why not choice b

aragonn · Answer

nirmalendu1  - anecdotal - is the key word there.... example is not anecdotal on top of that it is not the context of EU. Whole passage present more than this context. Main point should cover whole passage or any choice that is covering the max.

juancruzcba · Answer

Why is B considered wrong in Question #2?

b) a disruption to the classical process of decision making that will likely spread to other continents.

The passage talks about how the process of decision making is shifting, how "democracy" is changing. This can be think as a disruption.

Then, "As the experience of the EU suggests, the combination of popular democracy and legitimacy is proving increasingly problematic in making key decisions - not only in Europe, but also further afield." Suggests that can spread further afield.

Someone could shed some light on this?

Thanks,

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage the decision making process in EU is:

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

A.CORRECT:  EU had to be formed as popular democracy was hampering key decision making.

B.INCONSISTENT:  EU system is not a disruption but a deviation from popular democracy.

C.OUT OF SCOPE:  The passage does not say whether decisions made by the EU are better.

D.OUT OF SCOPE:  This cannot be inferred from the passage.

E.OUT OF SCOPE:  There is no mention of the free world anywhere in the passage.

Answer: A

avinashiitp · Answer

Hard Work started paying off

Total 7:40

All Correct

adv95 · Answer

Can someone explain the primary purpose, the decline of electoral accountability is seen throughout the passage as a main focus, and evolution is limited to the last paragraph, making one thing sure - there is a decline in electoral accountability in todays world, which author has fed in the mind of the reader. Evolution is mentioned in the last para in the words 'grows and mutates' but more or less ten places i can see decline of electoral accountability in some word or other!

Although we still celebrate the late twentieth-century as ‘victory of

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Although we still celebrate the late twentieth-century as ‘victory of

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