Passage - 2 "A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, learns more from his opponents than from…
Passage - 2
"A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But, though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense. The national unity of free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable."
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
I. In a democracy, a strong opposition is required only if the Head of Government is indifferent.
II. The more aggressive the opposition, the better is the governance in a democracy.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
I only
II only
Both I and II
Neither I nor II
Solution
Assumption I wrongly conditions the need for opposition on an indifferent Head of Government - the passage says opposition is always needed, not only then. Assumption II is also invalid - the passage favours an even balance of power and warns against opposition being 'revolutionary and irreconcilable,' so more aggressive opposition is not better. Neither assumption is valid.