Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer to this item should be based on the…
Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer to this item should be based on the passage only.
Passage:
It is certain, that seditions, wars, and contempt or breach of the laws are not so much to be imputed to the wickedness of the subjects, as to the bad state of a dominion. For men are not born fit for citizenship but must be made so. Besides, men's natural passions are everywhere the same; and if wickedness more prevails, and more offences are committed in one commonwealth than in another, it is certain that the former has neither enough pursued the end of unity, nor framed its laws with sufficient forethought; and that, therefore, it has failed in making quite good its right as a commonwealth.
Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the passage given above?
Seditions, wars, and breach of the laws are inevitable in every dominion.
It is not the people, but the sovereign who is responsible for all the problems of any dominion.
That dominion is the best which pursues the aim of unity and has laws for good citizenship.
It is impossible for men to establish a good dominion.
Solution
The passage states that if there are more crimes in one dominion compared to another, it is due to laws which lack foresight and a sovereign that has not pursued unity. Conversely, a State that pursues unity and frames good laws becomes the best State. Option (c) is the most logical inference. Options (a), (b) and (d) are extreme statements not supported by the passage.