QUESTION 7(a)
GS4
10 marks
The crisis of ethical values in modern times is traced to a narrow perception of the good life. Discuss.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Discuss how equating the good life with material success causes today's ethical crisis.
DiscussExplain the different sides of the issue, use evidence, and finish with a balanced view.
Demand-wise check
- 1Narrow view: wealth, consumption, status, pleasure as the measure of success≈30 words
- 2Consequences: corruption, greed in markets, environmental damage, loneliness, neglect of duty and community≈30 words
- 3Broader good life: virtue and flourishing (Aristotle), purushartha balance, Gandhi's simplicity, capabilities≈30 words
- 4Correctives: value education, sustainable lifestyles (LiFE), well-being metrics≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Narrow viewIts effectsBroader idea of good lifeCorrectivesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Generic moral lament without explaining the 'narrow perception'
- No thinker
Draw this
- Contrast table: narrow vs holistic good life
Value addition
- ThinkerGandhi's 'Seven Social Sins' (Young India, 1925) include 'wealth without work' and 'commerce without morality'.Young India, 1925
- ThinkerAristotle's eudaimonia: the good life is flourishing through virtue, not wealth.Nicomachean Ethics
- TheoryThe Easterlin paradox (1974): beyond a point, rising income does not raise happiness.Richard Easterlin, 1974
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗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.