NinetynineCAT 2023 Slot 2 VARC RC Passage 2 Q5–Q8
A reading comprehension passage from the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section of CAT 2023 Slot 2, with 4 questions (RC · Society, History & Politics). Answers are CAT's official key.
The passage
The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
Over the past four centuries liberalism has been so successful that it has driven all its opponents off the battlefield. Now it is disintegrating, destroyed by a mix of hubris and internal contradictions, according to Patrick Deneen, a professor of politics at the University of Notre Dame. . . . Equality of opportunity has produced a new meritocratic aristocracy that has all the aloofness of the old aristocracy with none of its sense of noblesse oblige. Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd. And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery. "The gap between liberalism's claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry" is now so wide that "the lie can no longer be accepted," Mr Deneen writes. What better proof of this than the vision of 1,000 private planes whisking their occupants to Davos to discuss the question of "creating a shared future in a fragmented world"? . . .
Deneen does an impressive job of capturing the current mood of disillusionment, echoing left-wing complaints about rampant commercialism, right-wing complaints about narcissistic and bullying students, and general worries about atomisation and selfishness. But when he concludes that all this adds up to a failure of liberalism, is his argument convincing? . . . He argues that the essence of liberalism lies in freeing individuals from constraints. In fact, liberalism contains a wide range of intellectual traditions which provide different answers to the question of how to trade off the relative claims of rights and responsibilities, individual expression and social ties. . . . liberals experimented with a range of ideas from devolving power from the centre to creating national education systems.
Mr Deneen's fixation on the essence of liberalism leads to the second big problem of his book: his failure to recognise liberalism's ability to reform itself and address its internal problems. The late 19th century saw America suffering from many of the problems that are reappearing today, including the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies, the corruption of politics and the sense that society was dividing into winners and losers. But a wide variety of reformers, working within the liberal tradition, tackled these problems head on. Theodore Roosevelt took on the trusts. Progressives cleaned up government corruption. University reformers modernised academic syllabuses and built ladders of opportunity. Rather than dying, liberalism reformed itself.
Mr Deneen is right to point out that the record of liberalism in recent years has been dismal. He is also right to assert that the world has much to learn from the premodern notions of liberty as self-mastery and self-denial. The biggest enemy of liberalism is not so much atomisation but old-fashioned greed, as members of the Davos elite pile their plates ever higher with perks and share options. But he is wrong to argue that the only way for people to liberate themselves from the contradictions of liberalism is "liberation from liberalism itself". The best way to read "Why Liberalism Failed" is not as a funeral oration but as a call to action: up your game, or else.
Over the past four centuries liberalism has been so successful that it has driven all its opponents off the battlefield. Now it is disintegrating, destroyed by a mix of hubris and internal contradictions, according to Patrick Deneen, a professor of politics at the University of Notre Dame. . . . Equality of opportunity has produced a new meritocratic aristocracy that has all the aloofness of the old aristocracy with none of its sense of noblesse oblige. Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd. And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery. "The gap between liberalism's claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry" is now so wide that "the lie can no longer be accepted," Mr Deneen writes. What better proof of this than the vision of 1,000 private planes whisking their occupants to Davos to discuss the question of "creating a shared future in a fragmented world"? . . .
Deneen does an impressive job of capturing the current mood of disillusionment, echoing left-wing complaints about rampant commercialism, right-wing complaints about narcissistic and bullying students, and general worries about atomisation and selfishness. But when he concludes that all this adds up to a failure of liberalism, is his argument convincing? . . . He argues that the essence of liberalism lies in freeing individuals from constraints. In fact, liberalism contains a wide range of intellectual traditions which provide different answers to the question of how to trade off the relative claims of rights and responsibilities, individual expression and social ties. . . . liberals experimented with a range of ideas from devolving power from the centre to creating national education systems.
Mr Deneen's fixation on the essence of liberalism leads to the second big problem of his book: his failure to recognise liberalism's ability to reform itself and address its internal problems. The late 19th century saw America suffering from many of the problems that are reappearing today, including the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies, the corruption of politics and the sense that society was dividing into winners and losers. But a wide variety of reformers, working within the liberal tradition, tackled these problems head on. Theodore Roosevelt took on the trusts. Progressives cleaned up government corruption. University reformers modernised academic syllabuses and built ladders of opportunity. Rather than dying, liberalism reformed itself.
Mr Deneen is right to point out that the record of liberalism in recent years has been dismal. He is also right to assert that the world has much to learn from the premodern notions of liberty as self-mastery and self-denial. The biggest enemy of liberalism is not so much atomisation but old-fashioned greed, as members of the Davos elite pile their plates ever higher with perks and share options. But he is wrong to argue that the only way for people to liberate themselves from the contradictions of liberalism is "liberation from liberalism itself". The best way to read "Why Liberalism Failed" is not as a funeral oration but as a call to action: up your game, or else.
Question 5
The author of the passage faults Deneen's conclusions for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT:
- Aits repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty.
- Bits failure to note historical instances in which the process of declining liberalism has managed to reverse itself.
- Cits very narrow definition of liberalism limited to individual freedoms.
- Dits extreme pessimism about the future of liberalism today and predictions of an ultimate decline.
Answer: (A) its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ
Solution
- The author's criticisms: Deneen's narrow \"essence\" of liberalism as freedom from constraints (C), his failure to see that liberalism reforms itself, as in the late 19th century (B), and reading the book as a \"funeral oration\" rather than a call to action (D).
- On premodern liberty the author agrees with Deneen: \"He is also right to assert that the world has much to learn from the premodern notions of liberty.\"
- So A is not a criticism.
Question 6
The author of the passage is likely to disagree with all of the following statements, EXCEPT:
- Athe essence of liberalism lies in greater individual self-expression and freedoms.
- Bliberalism was the dominant ideal in the past century, but it had to reform itself to remain so.
- Cclaims about liberalism's disintegration are exaggerated and misunderstand its core features.
- Dif we accept that liberalism is a dying ideal, we must work to find a viable substitute.
Answer: (B) liberalism was the dominant ideal in the past century, but it had to reform itself to remain so. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ
Solution
- The author argues that liberalism has repeatedly reformed itself (Roosevelt, the Progressives, university reformers) and stays dominant, \"Rather than dying, liberalism reformed itself.\" He would agree with B.
- He rejects A (that is Deneen's narrow essence) and D (he rejects \"liberation from liberalism\").
- C goes too far: the author concedes the record is \"dismal\" and that Deneen captures the mood well, so he does not call the claims exaggerated.
Question 7
All of the following statements are evidence of the decline of liberalism today, EXCEPT:
- A". . . the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies . . ."
- B"And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery."
- C"Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd."
- D"'The gap between liberalism's claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry' is now so wide that 'the lie can no longer be accepted,'. . ."
Answer: (B) "And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery." RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ
Solution
- The question asks which line is not evidence of liberalism's own decline today.
- A: the passage says these late-19th-century problems \"are reappearing today\", so a business aristocracy and vast companies are present-day signs of liberal failure. C (democracy degenerating) and D (the gap between liberalism's claims and reality) are direct failures of liberal institutions and promises.
- B blames technological advances for meaningless work. That is a consequence of technology, not a failure of liberalism's ideals or institutions, so it is the exception.
Question 8
The author of the passage refers to "the Davos elite" to illustrate his views on:
- Athe way the debate around liberalism has been captured by the rich who have managed to insulate themselves from economic hardships.
- Bthe fact that the rise in liberalism had led to a greater interest in shared futures from unlikely social classes.
- Cthe unlikelihood of a return to the liberalism of the past as long as the rich continue to benefit from the decline in liberal values.
- Dthe hypocrisy of the liberal rich, who profess to subscribe to liberal values while cornering most of the wealth.
Answer: (D) the hypocrisy of the liberal rich, who profess to subscribe to liberal values while cornering most of the wealth. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ
Solution
- The Davos elite fly in 1,000 private planes to discuss \"a shared future in a fragmented world\", and they \"pile their plates ever higher with perks and share options\".
- The author sees this as the gap between professed liberal values and greedy conduct, i.e. hypocrisy, D.
- A says the debate is \"captured\" and the rich are insulated, which the passage doesn't argue. C's prediction about a return is not made.