SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 16 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 18 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
Democracy is frequently extolled as the political system that best guarantees individual liberty. Enshrined in constitutional rights and protected by the rule of law, freedom of speech, association, religion, and conscience are regarded as hallmarks of democratic governance. However, what is less frequently acknowledged—but equally vital—is the reciprocal pillar of responsibility without which such freedoms can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes. Freedom in a democracy is not absolute; it exists within a framework of mutual restraint and civic discipline. The right to express dissent, for instance, is foundational. Yet when freedom of expression is weaponized to disseminate hate speech, misinformation, or seditious propaganda, it ceases to serve the democratic cause. Responsibility thus entails a conscious engagement with the implications of one’s actions—not just their legality, but their ethical and civic consequences. The challenge lies in reconciling liberty with accountability in pluralistic societies. With diverse cultural, ideological, and economic constituencies, democracies are inherently sites of contention. In such contexts, responsibility demands more than legal compliance—it requires empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to collective well-being. A citizen’s right to protest, for example, must be exercised with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints. Similarly, the freedom to vote must be matched by an obligation to make informed choices, unswayed by populism, prejudice, or manipulation. The tension between freedom and responsibility is perhaps most visible during moments of crisis—be it a pandemic, a communal riot, or a constitutional standoff. In such times, the temptation to prioritize personal liberty at the cost of collective safety can prove fatal. Refusal to wear masks during a health emergency or the viral spread of unverified news during civil unrest exemplify how unbridled freedom can undermine democratic resilience. Moreover, democracy itself is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilant citizens who recognize that rights are not entitlements in perpetuity, but privileges preserved through active participation. When freedom is divorced from responsibility, democratic institutions become vulnerable to erosion—from within. Demagogues often rise not solely because of state failure, but due to civic apathy or irresponsible use of democratic freedoms by the populace itself. Therefore, in any functioning democracy, freedom and responsibility are not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing imperatives. The preservation of liberty necessitates a citizenry capable of ethical judgment, informed debate, and constructive dissent. In the absence of responsibility, freedom risks transforming from a catalyst of justice into a vehicle of division. Democracy survives not just through the laws it enacts, but through the civic virtues its citizens embody.

According to the passage, what happens when freedom is exercised without responsibility?

(a)It enhances legal systems
(b)It strengthens civic unity
(c)It leads to misuse and societal harm
(d)It guarantees better governance

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The passage answers the stem's without responsibility in so many words:

"responsibility without which such freedoms can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes"

"When freedom is divorced from responsibility, democratic institutions become vulnerable to erosion"

The misuse is named too: freedom of expression "weaponized to disseminate hate speech, misinformation, or seditious propaganda". Misuse plus harm → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
It enhances legal systems — Nothing in the passage says unchecked freedom enhances legal systems. On law, it says responsibility "demands more than legal compliance" — a point about conduct, not about improving the law.
(b)
It strengthens civic unity — Strengthens civic unity is the reverse of the passage: freedom without responsibility brings "polarization" and becomes "a vehicle of division".
(d)
It guarantees better governance — Guarantees better governance is also the reverse: institutions become "vulnerable to erosion—from within", and demagogues rise on "irresponsible use of democratic freedoms".

Concept

A detail question is answered by a sentence in the passage, so match the stem's condition to the passage's wording. "Without responsibility" returns as "without which", "divorced from responsibility" and "In the absence of responsibility".

Each of those sentences names a harm: chaos, polarization, erosion of institutions, division. The keyed option compresses them into misuse and societal harm.

The wrong options borrow passage words (legal, civic, governance) and attach them to claims the passage never makes.

The stem's "exercised without responsibility" is closest to the passage's "irresponsible use of democratic freedoms by the populace itself", which it gives as one reason demagogues rise.

Key facts

Freedoms without responsibility "can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes".
"In the absence of responsibility, freedom risks transforming from a catalyst of justice into a vehicle of division."
The passage's example of misuse: freedom of expression weaponized to spread hate speech, misinformation or seditious propaganda.

Study next

Detail questions: finding the passage's synonym for the stem's conditionParaphrase in comprehension options: misuse for weaponized, harm for chaos and division

Common traps

Choosing 'strengthens civic unity' because the passage uses the word civic — it links unchecked freedom to division.
Choosing a hopeful option on a what-goes-wrong question — the stem asks for the consequence of a failure.

On this passage, English Q.21 asks the same cause and effect through crises, and English Q.20 through what citizens owe democratic institutions.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Reading comprehension — all 128 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
Democracy is frequently extolled as the political system that best guarantees individual liberty. Enshrined in constitutional rights and protected by the rule of law, freedom of speech, association, religion, and conscience are regarded as hallmarks of democratic governance. However, what is less frequently acknowledged—but equally vital—is the reciprocal pillar of responsibility without which such freedoms can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes. Freedom in a democracy is not absolute; it exists within a framework of mutual restraint and civic discipline. The right to express dissent, for instance, is foundational. Yet when freedom of expression is weaponized to disseminate hate speech, misinformation, or seditious propaganda, it ceases to serve the democratic cause. Responsibility thus entails a conscious engagement with the implications of one’s actions—not just their legality, but their ethical and civic consequences. The challenge lies in reconciling liberty with accountability in pluralistic societies. With diverse cultural, ideological, and economic constituencies, democracies are inherently sites of contention. In such contexts, responsibility demands more than legal compliance—it requires empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to collective well-being. A citizen’s right to protest, for example, must be exercised with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints. Similarly, the freedom to vote must be matched by an obligation to make informed choices, unswayed by populism, prejudice, or manipulation. The tension between freedom and responsibility is perhaps most visible during moments of crisis—be it a pandemic, a communal riot, or a constitutional standoff. In such times, the temptation to prioritize personal liberty at the cost of collective safety can prove fatal. Refusal to wear masks during a health emergency or the viral spread of unverified news during civil unrest exemplify how unbridled freedom can undermine democratic resilience. Moreover, democracy itself is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilant citizens who recognize that rights are not entitlements in perpetuity, but privileges preserved through active participation. When freedom is divorced from responsibility, democratic institutions become vulnerable to erosion—from within. Demagogues often rise not solely because of state failure, but due to civic apathy or irresponsible use of democratic freedoms by the populace itself. Therefore, in any functioning democracy, freedom and responsibility are not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing imperatives. The preservation of liberty necessitates a citizenry capable of ethical judgment, informed debate, and constructive dissent. In the absence of responsibility, freedom risks transforming from a catalyst of justice into a vehicle of division. Democracy survives not just through the laws it enacts, but through the civic virtues its citizens embody.