CAT 2020 Slot 1 — VARC Question 17
Direction for Reading Comprehension: The pass ages given here are followed by some questions that have four answer choices; read the passage carefully and pick the option whose answer best aligns with the passage
The word ‘anarchy’ comes from the Greek anarkhia, meaning contrary to authority or without a ruler, and was used in a derogatory sense until 1840, when it was adopted by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to describe his political and social ideology. Proudhon argued that organization without government was both possible and desirable. In the evolution of political ideas, anarchism can be seen as an ultimate projection of both liberalism and socialism, and the differing strands of anarchist thought can be related to their emphasis on one or the other of these.
Historically, anarchism arose not only as an explanation of the gulf between the rich and the poor in any community, and of the reason why the poor have been obliged to fight for their share of a common inheritance, but as a radical answer to the question ‘What went wrong?’ that followed the ultimate outcome of the French Revolution. It had ended not only with a reign of terror and the emergence of a newly rich ruling caste, but with a new adored emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, strutting through his conquered territories.
The anarchists and their precursors were unique on the political Left in affirming that workers and peasants, grasping the chance that arose to bring an end to centuries of exploitation and tyranny, were inevitably betrayed by the new class of politicians, whose first priority was to re-establish a centralized state power. After every revolutionary uprising, usually won at a heavy cost for ordinary populations, the new rulers had no hesitation in applying violence and terror, a secret police, and a professional army to maintain their control.
For anarchists the state itself is the enemy, and they have applied the same interpretation to the outcome of every revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries. This is not merely because every state keeps a watchful and sometimes punitive eye on its dissidents, but because every state protects the privileges of the powerful.
The mainstream of anarchist propaganda for more than a century has been anarchistcommunism, which argues that property in land, natural resources, and the means of production should be held in mutual control by local communities, federating for innumerable joint purposes with other communes. It differs from state socialism in opposing the concept of any central authority. Some anarchists prefer to distinguish between anarchist-communism and collectivist anarchism in order to stress the obviously desirable freedom of an individual or family to possess the resources needed for living, while not implying the right to own the resources needed by others. . . .
There are, unsurprisingly, several traditions of individualist anarchism, one of them deriving from the ‘conscious egoism’ of the German writer Max Stirner (1806–56), and another from a remarkable series of 19th-century American figures who argued that in protecting our own autonomy and associating with others for common advantages, we are promoting the good of all. These thinkers differed from free-market liberals in their absolute mistrust of American capitalism, and in their emphasis on mutualism.
According to the passage, what is the one idea that is common to all forms of anarchism?
Answer & solution
- A
There is no idea common to all forms of anarchism; that is why it is anarchic.
- B
They all derive from the work of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.
They are all opposed to the centralisation of power in the state.
- D
They all focus on the primacy of the power of the individual.
Easy
The question asks for the single idea shared by all forms of anarchism. Scan for a thread that runs across every strand the passage names — communist, collectivist and individualist. The right answer must be true of all of them, not just one variety.
Incorrect. "There is no idea common to all forms of anarchism" contradicts the passage outright. The author explicitly builds a common thread — anarchists "applied the same interpretation to the outcome of every revolution" and hold that "the state itself is the enemy." A shared core clearly exists, so this is wrong.
Incorrect. Proudhon merely adopted the word "anarchy" in 1840 to describe his own ideology; the passage never claims all forms derive from his work. Indeed individualist anarchism is traced to Max Stirner and to "19th-century American figures" — independent sources, not Proudhon. So this is a misread of one detail.
Correct. Opposition to centralised state power is the one thread that runs through every strand. The author states flatly that "for anarchists the state itself is the enemy" and that "every state protects the privileges of the powerful." Anarchist-communism "differs from state socialism in opposing the concept of any central authority," and even the individualists prize "autonomy" against state capitalism. This is the genuinely common idea.
Incorrect. The primacy of the individual is the emphasis of only the individualist tradition (Stirner's "conscious egoism"). It is not shared by anarchist-communism, which vests control of land and resources in "local communities" and "communes." Being true of just one strand, it cannot be the idea common to all.
The correct answer is option C: all forms of anarchism are opposed to the centralisation of power in the state — the passage repeatedly frames the state as the common enemy across every anarchist tradition.