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:
Aristocratic government ruins itself by limiting too narrowly the circle within which power is confined; oligarchic government ruins itself by the incautious scramble for immediate wealth. But even democracy ruins itself by excess of democracy. Its basic principle is the equal right of all to hold office and determine public policy. This is, at first glance, a delightful arrangement; it becomes disastrous because the people are not properly equipped by education to select the best rulers and the wisest courses. The people have no understanding and only repeat what their rulers are pleased to tell them. Such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy. - Plato
Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above?
Human societies experiment with different forms of governments.
Any form of government tends to deteriorate by excess of its basic principle.
Education of all citizens ensures a perfect, functional and sustainable democracy.
Having a government is a necessary evil because tyranny is inherent in any form of government.
Solution
The passage discusses aristocracy, oligarchy and democracy and shows how each form of government turns into a tyranny due to the excess of its own basic principle. Option (b) captures this crux. Option (a) is mentioned but is not decisive. Options (c) and (d) overstate or distort the passage.