Question

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Several of the world’s earliest cities were organised along egalitarian lines. In some regions, urban populations governed themselves for centuries without any indication of the temples and palaces that would later emerge; in others, temples and palaces never emerged at all, and there is simply no evidence of a class of administrators or any other sort of ruling stratum. It would seem that the mere fact of urban life does not, necessarily, imply any particular form of political organization, and never did. Far from resigning us to inequality, the picture that is now emerging of humanity’s past may open our eyes to egalitarian possibilities we otherwise would have never considered.

• A. We now have the evidence in support of the existence of an egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities, where political and civic organisation was far less hierarchical.
• B. Contrary to our assumption that urban settlements have always involved hierarchical political and administrative structures, ancient cities were not organised in this way.
• C. The emergence of a class of administrators and ruling stratum transformed the egalitarian urban life of ancient cities to the hierarchical civic organisations of today.
• D. The lack of hierarchical administration in ancient cities can be deduced by the absence of religious and regal structures such as temples and palaces.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The passage discusses the organization of the world's earliest cities, highlighting that several were structured along egalitarian lines. This means that these urban populations managed themselves without evidence of hierarchical structures such as temples, palaces, or a ruling class. The passage further suggests that urban living does not inherently require a specific form of political organization, challenging the notion that inequality is a necessary aspect of city life. It also implies that understanding the egalitarian nature of ancient cities might open us to consider similar possibilities in the present.

The option that best captures this essence is: We now have the evidence in support of the existence of an egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities, where political and civic organisation was far less hierarchical.