QUESTION 6(a)
GS4
10 marks
“The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more evil than good... our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.” – Abraham Lincoln. What does this quotation mean to you in the present context?
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain Lincoln's view that choices should rest on whether good outweighs evil, with present examples.
Explain the meaningAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Meaning: few policies are free of harm; judge net balance, not mere presence of harm≈30 words
- 2Present examples: dams, GM crops, Aadhaar, COVID lockdown, nuclear power≈30 words
- 3Limits: rights cannot be traded for aggregate gain; long-term and hidden costs; who bears the evil≈30 words
- 4Tools: cost-benefit analysis, impact assessment, proportionality test≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
MeaningPolicy examplesLimits of net-benefit logicSafeguardsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Restating the quote without examples
- Missing the limits of utilitarian reasoning
Draw this
- Balance scale with a policy's goods and harms
Value addition
- CasePuttaswamy (Aadhaar) judgment, 2018 applied a proportionality test, upholding Aadhaar for welfare but striking down Section 57 private use.Supreme Court, 2018
- ThinkerBentham: 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number' is the measure of right and wrong.A Fragment on Government, 1776
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
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗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.