Question

The author of the passage is likely to disagree with all of the following statements, EXCEPT:

• A. if we accept that liberalism is a dying ideal, we must work to find a viable substitute.
• B. liberalism was the dominant ideal in the past century, but it had to reform itself to remain so.
• C. claims about liberalism’s disintegration are exaggerated and misunderstand its core features.
• D. the essence of liberalism lies in greater individual self-expression and freedoms.
• A. “‘The gap between liberalism’s claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry’ is now so wide that ‘the lie can no longer be accepted,’. . .”
• B. “And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery.”
• C. “. . . the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies . . .”
• D. “Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd.”
• A. its very narrow definition of liberalism limited to individual freedoms.
• B. its failure to note historical instances in which the process of declining liberalism has managed to reverse itself.
• C. its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty.
• D. its extreme pessimism about the future of liberalism today and predictions of an ultimate decline.
• A. the fact that the rise in liberalism had led to a greater interest in shared futures from unlikely social classes.
• B. the hypocrisy of the liberal rich, who profess to subscribe to liberal values while cornering most of the wealth.
• C. the unlikelihood of a return to the liberalism of the past as long as the rich continue to benefit from the decline in liberal values.
• D. the way the debate around liberalism has been captured by the rich who have managed to insulate themselves from economic hardships.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The solution to the problem "the author of the passage is likely to disagree with all of the following statements, EXCEPT" involves understanding the author's stance on liberalism based on the passage provided. Let's analyze the information: 

1. If we accept that liberalism is a dying ideal, we must work to find a viable substitute. The passage argues against liberalism's demise, implying the author disagrees with the notion of liberalism as a dying ideal, thus likely opposing this statement.

2. Liberalism was the dominant ideal in the past century, but it had to reform itself to remain so. The passage mentions liberalism's ability to reform, indicating the author agrees with this point, making it the exception.

3. Claims about liberalism’s disintegration are exaggerated and misunderstand its core features. The passage critiques liberalism’s disintegration but highlights its adaptability, which the author might challenge, suggesting disagreement with this statement.

4. The essence of liberalism lies in greater individual self-expression and freedoms. The author challenges the oversimplified essence of liberalism, suggesting disagreement with this statement as well.

Considering the passage and the author's perspective, option 2 is the exception the author is likely to agree with: "Liberalism was the dominant ideal in the past century, but it had to reform itself to remain so."

Answer 2

To determine which statement does not serve as evidence of the decline of liberalism, we need to identify if each provided option aligns with the stated decline in the passage. Let's analyze each statement: 

1. "‘The gap between liberalism’s claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry’ is now so wide that ‘the lie can no longer be accepted,’ . . .” This statement highlights the disparity between liberalism's promises and actual societal experiences, indicating a negative perception and thus suggesting evidence of decline.

2. “And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery.” This statement refers to technological changes leading to monotonous jobs. While it discusses a societal issue, it doesn't directly critique liberalism itself as failing; instead, it identifies a byproduct of technological progress, which can occur in any political or economic system.

3. “. . . the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies . . .” This reflects concerns about an elite class dominating economic structures, indicative of liberalism failing to provide equality, hence supporting its decline.

4. “Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd.” This depicts democracy, a core tenet of liberalism, as a farce, clearly underscoring liberalism's perceived decline.

Among these, statement 2 is the exception, as it merely mentions a side effect of technological advancement without attributing this issue to a failure of liberalism. Therefore, the correct answer is:

“And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery.”

Answer 3

The passage provides several reasons why the author criticizes Deneen's conclusions regarding liberalism. To accurately identify the correct exception to these criticisms, we will review each option in the context of the passage content.

• Its very narrow definition of liberalism limited to individual freedoms: The passage criticizes Deneen's fixation on the essence of liberalism, implying a narrow view limited to individual freedoms, overlooking its diverse intellectual traditions. Therefore, this reason is mentioned as a criticism.
• Its failure to note historical instances in which the process of declining liberalism has managed to reverse itself: The author mentions history where liberalism reformed, suggesting Deneen misses these instances. This is another aspect of criticism.
• Its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty: While the passage acknowledges the merits of premodern notions like self-mastery, it doesn't explicitly criticize Deneen for harking back to these ideas. Instead, it's posed as a right point. Hence, this is the exception to the criticism.
• Its extreme pessimism about the future of liberalism today and predictions of an ultimate decline: The passage notes Deneen's pessimistic view, signaling a critical stance towards this conclusion.

Based on this analysis, the correct answer is:

its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty.

Answer 4

Take note of the context in which the author discusses the "Davos elite": "As members of the Davos elite pile their plates ever higher with perks and share options, the biggest enemy of liberalism is not so much atomization but old-fashioned greed." Option B is the only one that mentions the Davos elite's avarice. This is the right response option. 

Option A is wrong because the passage calls out the hypocrisy of the Davos elite's actions rather than implying that the advent of liberalism has increased interest in shared futures among improbable socioeconomic classes.

Option C is inaccurate because the paragraph refers to internal inconsistencies and arrogance rather than directly linking the fall in liberal values to the rich profiting.

Option D is wrong since the passage criticizes the Davos elite's activities rather than focusing on how the rich and powerful control the liberal language.

The correct option is (B): the hypocrisy of the liberal rich, who profess to subscribe to liberal values while cornering most of the wealth.