QUESTION 3(b)
GS4
10 marks
Human beings should always be treated as 'ends' in themselves and never as merely 'means'. Explain the meaning and significance of this statement, giving its implications in the modern techno-economic society.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain Kant's principle of treating people as ends and its implications in today's techno-economic society.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Meaning: every person has dignity and rational autonomy; using someone is wrong when it ignores their consent and goals ('merely' as means). Employment itself is fine if fair≈30 words
- 2Significance: basis of human rights, informed consent, dignity under Art 21, rejection of pure cost-benefit sacrifice of individuals≈30 words
- 3Modern violations: gig workers controlled by algorithms without security, data harvesting and surveillance capitalism, unsafe clinical trials, targeted ads manipulating users, forced overtime in factories≈30 words
- 4Safeguards: data consent, labour protection for platform workers, ethical AI, human-centred design≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Kant's principle and 'merely'SignificanceTechno-economic violationsSafeguardsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Ignoring the word 'merely' and condemning all use of others' services
- Not giving techno-economic examples
Draw this
- Table: practice → how it treats people as mere means → safeguard
Value addition
- ThinkerKant's Formula of Humanity: 'Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never merely as a means' (Groundwork, 1785).Kant, 1785
- LawCode on Social Security 2020 first recognised gig and platform workers; Rajasthan passed a Platform-Based Gig Workers Act in 2023.Parliament 2020; Rajasthan 2023
- LawDigital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 makes informed consent the basis of data processing.Parliament, 2023
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.