Reading
Read the following passage and question ( s ) and then select the best answer ( s )
This passage is from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract & Discourses. Originally published in 1762.
Line The question "What absolutely is the best government?" is unanswerable as well as indeterminate; or rather, there are as many good answers as there are possible combinations in the absolute and relative situations of all nations.The question "What absolutely is the best government?" is unanswerable as well as indeterminate; or rather, there are as many good answers as there are possible combinations in the absolute and relative situations of all nations.
But if it is asked by what sign we may know that a given people is well or ill governed, that is another matter, and the question, being one of fact, admits of an answer.
It is not, however, answered, because every-one wants to answer it in his own way. Subjects extol public tranquility, citizens individual liberty; the one class prefers security of possessions, the other that of person; the one regards as the best government that which is most severe, the other maintains that the mildest is the best; the one wants crimes punished, the other wants them prevented; the one wants the State to be feared by its neighbours, the other prefers that it should be ignored; the one is content if money circulates, the other demands that the people shall have bread. Even if an agreement were come to on these and similar points, should we have got any further? As moral qualities do not admit of exact measurement, agreement about the mark does not mean agreement about the valuation.
For my part, I am continually astonished that a mark so simple is not recognised, or that men are of so bad faith as not to admit it. What is the end of political association? The preservation and prosperity of its members. And what is the surest mark of their preservation and prosperity? Their numbers and population. Seek then nowhere else this mark that is in dispute. The rest being equal, the government under which, without external aids, without naturalisation or colonies, the citizens increase and multiply most, is beyond question the best. The government under which a people wanes and diminishes is worst. Calculators, it is left for you to count, to measure, to compare.
Select an Answer
Which of the following would be most similar to a well-governed nation, according to Rousseau's criteria?
Answer
A
A business in which the employees are allowed to work independently
B
A summer camp that has more children in attendance each year
C
A sports team whose players think their coach is strict but fair
D
A club that maintains a large and steady number of members
答案及解析：B
EXPLANATION
Choice A is incorrect. According to Rousseau, a well-governed nation is one in which "the citizens increase and multiply most." A business in which the employees are allowed to work independently would be similar to a nation in which the citizens have great personal liberty, not one in which the population is growing.
Correct
Choice B is the best answer. According to Rousseau, a well-governed nation is one in which "the citizens increase and multiply most." A summer camp with a continually increasing number of children in attendance is closest to Rousseau's model for a successful government.
Choice C is incorrect. According to Rousseau, a well-governed nation is one in which "the citizens increase and multiply most." A sports team whose players think the coach is strict but fair would be similar to a nation in which the citizens respect their leader, not one in which the population is growing.
Choice D is incorrect. According to Rousseau, a well-governed nation is one in which "the citizens increase and multiply most." A club that maintains a large and steady membership would have a stable population rather than the population growth Rousseau sees as the indication of a good government.
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