Reading Comprehension

PT103 · S4 · P1 · Q1 Compulsory National Service

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Opponents of compulsory national service claim that such a program is not in keeping with the liberal principles upon which Western democracies are founded.

Topic

Compulsory national service and its compatibility with liberal democratic principles

Framework

Challenge Position

Main Point

The author argues that compulsory national service is not in conflict with liberal principles, as shared sacrifice and community benefit are fundamental to the social contract that supports individual rights in a democracy. The Most Valuable Sentence is the final one: (End of passage)

P1: Rebuttal to Opponents – Framing the Social Agreement

Opponents claim national service violates liberal values, but the author counters this by emphasizing the underlying social agreement that enables individual rights; just like taxation for law enforcement, shared sacrifice underpins community and liberty.

P2: Drawing the Analogy to National Defense

The passage extends the comparison, arguing that defending the nation is as essential as paying taxes and that the state can require service from its citizens when society benefits.

P3: Addressing an Objection – Challenging the Analogy

Possible objections are considered: some say taxation and service aren't the same because conscription isn't necessary and national service can go beyond defense. These objections raise the issue of how far government rights can justifiably go.

1.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the author's attitude toward the relationship between citizenship and individual rights in a democracy?

  1. confidence that individual rights are

    Too Strong: most important

    This has a sizzling superlative - "individual rights are the most important guarantees of personal freedom". We can't find any sentence in the passage that allows us to support such an extreme claim.

    5% picked this

  2. satisfaction at how individual rights

    Out of Scope: unwarranted intrusion

    The author is saying that compulsory national service and taxation are not unwarranted government intrusions into the lives of citizens. But the author never issues a blanket statement that overall individual rights have done a good job at protecting against any other form of unwarranted government intrusion (like wire-tapping, for example).

    4% picked this

  3. alarm that so many citizens

    Too Strong

    Too Strong: alarm Out of Scope: excuse to take advantage The author never seems alarmed by anything, let alone the odd concept of citizens using individual rights as an excuse to take advantage of each other. It's not clear what that would even look like? How do you take advantage of a fellow citizen by using individual rights? Maybe you're taking advantage of the people who do serve in the army or do pay their taxes by citing individual rights as your reason for not enlisting in the military or not paying taxes? At any rate, there's nothing in the passage about take advantage of each other via individual rights.

    1% picked this

  4. concern that individual rights represent

    Too Strong: only

    Like (A), this has a very extreme claim: citizens' only defense against government interference is individual rights? They can't try to defend themselves with their fists? With a frying pan? By forming a local gang/militia? By writing a hit song that criticizes the government? We don't have any support for this overly restrictive idea.

    4% picked this

  5. Correct

    dissatisfaction at how some citizens

    Why this is right

    While the passage never explicitly discusses that citizens have avoided certain obligations to their government, it implies a rationale that some citizens use as a way of arguing that they should be able to avoid certain obligations. The 1st paragraph is explaining how some citizens will say, "I shouldn't have to partake in compulsory national service or have my property taxed, because that infringes on my individual rights". And the author is definitely disagreeing with that point of view (hence, she is dissatisfied with it). She says that this type of argument "fails to take into account the social agreement that undergirds our liberties". "Implicit in our social agreement is the concept of shared sacrifice". "Each of us must bear a share of the burden". "The state is certainly within its rights to compel citizens to perform national service when it's needed for the benefit of society."

    Skill tested: Author's Attitude · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    86% picked this

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