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akhpad
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Source: Veritas Prep
The civil service system that existed in early twentieth century Great Britain was based on a rigid class system. It is assumed that its efficiency derived from separation into upper and lower divisions based on educational background and that democracy therefore was less important to the functioning of a civil service system than was class differentiation. Some scholars, by contrast, have argued that the class system was instead concerned with preserving class specific economic differences and that democracy was inimical to this particular goal. Historian Robert A. Caro, for example, has argued that in early twentieth century Great Britain, the carefully placed hurdles discouraging movement from the lower to the upper division existed primarily to maintain the economic disparity between members of the two divisions: the lower division was much larger than the upper division, its members were paid substantially lower wages and were generally only of high school education. On the other hand, others more intimately involved in civil service systems have cast doubt upon these arguments, examining ways in which democracy inhibits the functioning of a civil service system, particularly its efficiency. Robert Moses notes, for example, that a civil service with no class distinction tends to be one of mediocrity: such democracy is false democracy.
The passage suggests which of the following about Robert Moses?
A: He held anti-democratic political opinions.
B: He came from an upper-class background and held a university degree.
C: His views regarding civil service systems stemmed from personal experience.
D: His writings on the subject of the civil service system were in response to those of Caro.
E: His career mainly focused on increasing the efficiency of civil service systems.
OA: C
Please explain. I think answer lies on last few sentences.
The civil service system that existed in early twentieth century Great Britain was based on a rigid class system. It is assumed that its efficiency derived from separation into upper and lower divisions based on educational background and that democracy therefore was less important to the functioning of a civil service system than was class differentiation. Some scholars, by contrast, have argued that the class system was instead concerned with preserving class specific economic differences and that democracy was inimical to this particular goal. Historian Robert A. Caro, for example, has argued that in early twentieth century Great Britain, the carefully placed hurdles discouraging movement from the lower to the upper division existed primarily to maintain the economic disparity between members of the two divisions: the lower division was much larger than the upper division, its members were paid substantially lower wages and were generally only of high school education. On the other hand, others more intimately involved in civil service systems have cast doubt upon these arguments, examining ways in which democracy inhibits the functioning of a civil service system, particularly its efficiency. Robert Moses notes, for example, that a civil service with no class distinction tends to be one of mediocrity: such democracy is false democracy.
The passage suggests which of the following about Robert Moses?
A: He held anti-democratic political opinions.
B: He came from an upper-class background and held a university degree.
C: His views regarding civil service systems stemmed from personal experience.
D: His writings on the subject of the civil service system were in response to those of Caro.
E: His career mainly focused on increasing the efficiency of civil service systems.
OA: C
Please explain. I think answer lies on last few sentences.
Last edited by akhpad on Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
