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Updated on: 29 May 2020, 09:53
Originally posted by unraveled on 17 Jan 2020, 08:31.
Last edited by Sajjad1994 on 29 May 2020, 09:53, edited 3 times in total.
Last edited by Sajjad1994 on 29 May 2020, 09:53, edited 3 times in total.
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Question 1
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
49% (03:16) correct
51%
(03:13) wrong
based on 509
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 2
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
69% (00:48) correct 31%
(01:05) wrong
based on 496
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 3
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
59% (01:09) correct 41%
(01:06) wrong
based on 506
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Project RC Butler 2020 - Participate and win GMAT Club Tests.
Passage # 118, Date: 29-May-2020
This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020. Click here for Details
Passage # 118, Date: 29-May-2020
This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020. Click here for Details
“Of all forms of tyranny, the least attractive and most vulgar is the tyranny of wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy.” It is a statement by US President Theodor Roosevelt, who is one of the most prominent figures in the Western world, regarding the matters of wealth and power. It is a concern that is doomed to continue so long as we maintain the current paradigm of government, however. In The Republic, Plato describes a dynamic by which those who rule a city do so through their ownership of large portions of it, and that this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership, creating only the illusion of a path to equal opportunities. Criticism of this relationship between wealth and power has existed since the ancient eras, and in most, if not all, nations.
Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted. It seems that, invariably, this is the natural progression of governance, with a final outcome of public dissatisfaction in governance so great that the existing system is replaced with something new, causing the cycle to begin again. The only difference, it seems, is the manner in which the new system is implemented.
The bottom line is that those who are able to enforce their claims of ownership over the resources in a nation will use those resources to shape government policy and public opinion in ways that are personally beneficial to them. Having such access to huge volumes of resources allows them to have their opinions be given disproportionate attention, and control the ways in which events are portrayed through public communications mediums. Even more directly, it becomes quite common to see financial contributions to political campaigns or even bribery, offers of high-paying jobs with companies influenced by a politician’s policy decisions, trading in valuable information, and more. By refraining from direct governance, these people are filtered from the same kind of public scrutiny given to politicians, but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.
Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted. It seems that, invariably, this is the natural progression of governance, with a final outcome of public dissatisfaction in governance so great that the existing system is replaced with something new, causing the cycle to begin again. The only difference, it seems, is the manner in which the new system is implemented.
The bottom line is that those who are able to enforce their claims of ownership over the resources in a nation will use those resources to shape government policy and public opinion in ways that are personally beneficial to them. Having such access to huge volumes of resources allows them to have their opinions be given disproportionate attention, and control the ways in which events are portrayed through public communications mediums. Even more directly, it becomes quite common to see financial contributions to political campaigns or even bribery, offers of high-paying jobs with companies influenced by a politician’s policy decisions, trading in valuable information, and more. By refraining from direct governance, these people are filtered from the same kind of public scrutiny given to politicians, but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.
Q1. In what way does Plato’s description of plutocracy relate to the more indirect methods of governance described in the third paragraph?
A. The wealthy use bribery to illegally influence political decisions.
B. The politically-motivated people are given resources to gain power by indebting them to the wealthy.
C. The wealthy withhold resources from the nation to extort power.
D. The wealthy create large trusts with monopolistic power.
E. Plato’s description of plutocracy does not apply.
Q2. Which of the following political systems has been subject to plutocratic rule, according to the passage?
I. Democracy
II. Theocracy
III. Monarchy
IV. Republic
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
I. Democracy
II. Theocracy
III. Monarchy
IV. Republic
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
Q3. What is meant by the phrase “the illusion of a path to equal opportunities” (Highlighted), as used in the passage?
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
17 Jan 2020, 10:57
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Q1. In what way does Plato’s description of plutocracy relate to the more indirect methods of governance described in the third paragraph?
From Plato's description of plutocracy: "...access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership..."
A. The wealthy use bribery to illegally influence political decisions.
True, but this is a direct method not an indirect as asked in the question.
B. The politically-motivated people are given resources to gain power by indebting them to the wealthy.
"..., these people ... , but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them."
C. The wealthy withhold resources from the nation to extort power.
They do not, otherwise they could not profit from their wealth
D. The wealthy create large trusts with monopolistic power.
Out of scope
E. Plato’s description of plutocracy does not apply.
It does apply
Q2. Which of the following political systems has been subject to plutocratic rule, according to the passage?
"Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted."
I. Democracy
II. Theocracy
III. Monarchy
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
Q3. What is meant by the phrase “the illusion of a path to equal opportunities”, as used in the passage?
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
No
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
No the power is to create an illusion of equal opportunities
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
That would be the opposite
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.
True
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
If so they would not be illusional
From Plato's description of plutocracy: "...access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership..."
A. The wealthy use bribery to illegally influence political decisions.
True, but this is a direct method not an indirect as asked in the question.
B. The politically-motivated people are given resources to gain power by indebting them to the wealthy.
"..., these people ... , but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them."
C. The wealthy withhold resources from the nation to extort power.
They do not, otherwise they could not profit from their wealth
D. The wealthy create large trusts with monopolistic power.
Out of scope
E. Plato’s description of plutocracy does not apply.
It does apply
Q2. Which of the following political systems has been subject to plutocratic rule, according to the passage?
"Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted."
I. Democracy
II. Theocracy
III. Monarchy
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
Q3. What is meant by the phrase “the illusion of a path to equal opportunities”, as used in the passage?
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
No
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
No the power is to create an illusion of equal opportunities
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
That would be the opposite
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.
True
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
If so they would not be illusional
29 May 2020, 21:21
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plutocracy:A political system governed by the wealthy people
Even you don’t know meaning of plutocracy, while reading para1 , it is clear it is talking about people who own lot of resources who have wealth and by 3rd para it is clear that indirectly these people control the government.
1. Plato’s description of plutocracy =
Plato describes a dynamic by which those who rule a city do so through their ownership of large portions of it, and that this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership
3rd para says:
By refraining from direct governance, these people are filtered from the same kind of public scrutiny given to politicians, but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.
Prethinking: People who own most resources, will control the government at back through indirect and direct methods( bribery etc)
A. Direct method; we are looking for indirect
B. politicians are given resources to let wealthy people control indirectly -CORRECT
( but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.)
c. no extort power; they don’t keep power directly; they are indirectly controlling power through direct and indirect but extort is mentioned
d. monopolistics: ( non competitive)
this point is not mentioned anywhere in passage
2 points to check:
Monopolistic power: (the existing system is replaced with something new)
Create large trus: is no where mentioned in passage
So reject D
e. it applies: Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start
2 . Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted.
I,ii, iii, iv
E is right answer
3. In The Republic, Plato describes a dynamic by which those who rule a city do so through their ownership of large portions of it, and that this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership, creating only the illusion of a path to equal opportunities
>> opportunities are not equal because of some people who own large portion of respirces (wealthy)people
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
>> not individually; they are controlled by wealthy people
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
>> no equal opportunities
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
>> more power is with wealthy people
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.-CORRECT
>> opportunities are created by wealthy people showing an illusion but in fact they are not equal inherently.
Only ? let us re -read
ONLY is also mentioned specifically: this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others ONLY by means of debt issued by those with ownership
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
>> not mentioned: new system comes but still the same story( The only difference, it seems, is the manner in which the new system is implemented)-
Even you don’t know meaning of plutocracy, while reading para1 , it is clear it is talking about people who own lot of resources who have wealth and by 3rd para it is clear that indirectly these people control the government.
1. Plato’s description of plutocracy =
Plato describes a dynamic by which those who rule a city do so through their ownership of large portions of it, and that this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership
3rd para says:
By refraining from direct governance, these people are filtered from the same kind of public scrutiny given to politicians, but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.
Prethinking: People who own most resources, will control the government at back through indirect and direct methods( bribery etc)
A. Direct method; we are looking for indirect
B. politicians are given resources to let wealthy people control indirectly -CORRECT
( but still run the nation by keeping politicians financially indentured to them.)
c. no extort power; they don’t keep power directly; they are indirectly controlling power through direct and indirect but extort is mentioned
d. monopolistics: ( non competitive)
this point is not mentioned anywhere in passage
2 points to check:
Monopolistic power: (the existing system is replaced with something new)
Create large trus: is no where mentioned in passage
So reject D
e. it applies: Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start
2 . Regardless of the political system in place, in many ways, each nation is plutocratic from the very start, and as time goes by, the plutocratic forces are more strongly exerted.
I,ii, iii, iv
E is right answer
3. In The Republic, Plato describes a dynamic by which those who rule a city do so through their ownership of large portions of it, and that this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others only by means of debt issued by those with ownership, creating only the illusion of a path to equal opportunities
>> opportunities are not equal because of some people who own large portion of respirces (wealthy)people
A. Opportunities are abstractions that must be pursued individually.
>> not individually; they are controlled by wealthy people
B. Equal opportunities are achieved by creating an illusion of power.
>> no equal opportunities
C. No opportunity will be as great as that achieved by those in power.
>> more power is with wealthy people
D. Opportunities made possible only by sustaining a plutocracy are inherently unequal.-CORRECT
>> opportunities are created by wealthy people showing an illusion but in fact they are not equal inherently.
Only ? let us re -read
ONLY is also mentioned specifically: this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle in which access to resources is provided to others ONLY by means of debt issued by those with ownership
E. Opportunities can only be achieved after a transition in the political system.
>> not mentioned: new system comes but still the same story( The only difference, it seems, is the manner in which the new system is implemented)-
